What are small business owners’ main concerns going into 2026? Good morning everyone, and welcome back to Finance Friday! May is Small Business month. For those that don’t know, I used to work as a Business Relationship Manager at Chase Bank a while ago. Small Business is near and dear to me so this month, we’ll be focusing on Small Business Planning and some trends that we are noticing in Finance. If you are a business owner, entrepreneur or hoping to own a business someday, this month is for you.
This week let’s take a look at what’s concerning Business Owners presently. About a quarter of small businesses (Less than $10M in revenue) were surveyed last year by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. The top 3 concerns reported were Inflation (55%), Economic Downturn (41%) and Interest Rates (39%).
With these concerns in mind, 14% of small business owners gave up their own retirement plan contributions to help their companies and about 14% withdrew from their personal retirement funds to support their company. About the same number of respondents said they cancelled or postponed their own retirement last year.
Now, regarding Financial Planning, about 21% of Small Business Owners met with a Financial Advisor. Consistent with their concerns, 39% wanted to talk about inflation, 32% wanted to talk about their own retirement plan and 20% wanted to discuss Succession Planning.
In summary, small business owners are reaching out and meeting with their Financial Planners and Advisors about their top concerns. However, the numbers are too small, close to 1 in 5 business owners, which asks the question, “What are the other 4 doing?”
I urge you, as a small business owner, schedule a conversation with your Financial Planner/Advisor to make sure your concerns and your retirement strategy are being addressed. It can save you from making a choice that can severely impact your future financial goals.
Now it’s your turn. What are your top concerns as a business owner? The email is still hector@hrcfin.com, for any questions and thoughts on our discussion. Also, don’t forget to follow HRC Financial on Facebook and LinkedIn for more Finance Friday Tips and Insights.
Thanks again for your time and we’ll see you next week for another Finance Friday!