A new Small Business for America’s Future survey of 1,171 small business owners finds Main Street struggling through one of the hardest economies owners have faced, as costs climb on nearly every front and customers pull back. 75 percent call this one of the hardest economies of their careers. Of those who call it one of the hardest, 83 percent picked the pandemic or the Great Recession as most comparable.

The survey shows Main Street small businesses are being pressured by a tsunami of high costs, tariffs and shrinking customer spending. Seventy-two percent say running their business is harder than it was a year ago, and 83 percent are concerned about their business’s financial health over the next 12 months. More than half of owners report rising costs in six of the nine categories surveyed, and 78 percent say cost increases have hurt their ability to operate or grow. Owners are covering the gaps by cutting their own pay and putting off investments in the future of their businesses, and they say Washington doesn’t prioritize the needs of small businesses. 

“Costs are hitting Main Street from every direction at once and Washington doesn’t seem to care about the needs of small business owners. My business is a good example of what is happening. We’ve been navigating erratic tariff policies that have disrupted our supply chains and now my heating oil costs $4,000 to $6,000 a month,” says Walt Rowen, Co-chair of Small Business for America’s Future and president of Susquehanna Glass Co., a 116-year-old family-owned glass manufacturer in Columbia, Pennsylvania. “We’ve lived through the Depression, wars, and recessions. Heating my factory in this current economy is some of the hardest math I’ve ever had to do, and I’m expecting the bill to jump 30 percent to 40 percent this winter. This survey shows us that I am far from alone. Small business owners everywhere are comparing this economy to some of the worst moments we’ve had this century.”

A combination of factors is crushing small business:

• Inflation: Among the 72 percent who say business has gotten harder, 85 percent name inflation and rising prices as a reason.
• Energy and fuel: 85 percent say energy costs have hurt their business, 72 percent report higher utility costs and 68 percent report higher fuel costs. Seventy-three percent are concerned growing energy demand from AI data centers could push their electricity costs even higher. Among those hurt by energy costs, nearly a third (32 percent) saw them rise 20 percent or more.
• Healthcare: 54 percent report higher health insurance costs, and 74 percent of employers worry rising premiums will make it harder to hire and keep workers. Among owners who buy their own Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage, 90 percent saw premiums rise this year.
• Tariffs: 59 percent say tariffs have made it harder to afford the day-to-day cost of running their business, and 35 percent paid them indirectly through higher supplier prices, so they can’t claim a refund.
• Wages: 76 percent of employers say rising living costs are pressuring them to raise wages.
• Customers: 46 percent say their customers are spending significantly less. Among the 77 percent who see customers pulling back, 84 percent blame inflation.

On top of everything else, owners say federal actions add to the strain:

• The Middle East conflict: 74 percent are concerned U.S. military action in the Middle East could raise their costs.
• Immigration enforcement: 61 percent say immigration enforcement is hurting small businesses, and 33 percent have seen workers stop showing up to work out of fear of enforcement.

Owners Are Paying the Price Personally, and Growth Is on Hold

With costs compounding on every front, owners are covering the gap out of their own pockets. Sixty-four percent of small business owners have cut or skipped their own pay to keep their businesses running, and 47 percent say their business no longer covers their living expenses the way it used to. More than a quarter have considered closing or selling their business altogether. 

“To keep my business afloat, I invested my 401(k) savings and leveraged my home equity as collateral for additional capital, putting my family’s financial security on the line to sustain my business and employees,” says Gabe Hagen, founder of Brick Road Community Corporation, a coffee roasting company in Tempe, Arizona. “I raised my prices, but sales have just flattened out because customers are ordering less.”

Small business owners are putting business growth on hold. Sixty-seven percent have delayed, canceled or scaled back investments in business growth because of federal policy uncertainty. Fifty-seven percent have done the same with hiring, and 56 percent with expansion plans. Among owners hit by tariffs, half have delayed planned investments in growth or expansion.

The national survey of 1,171 small business owners in the Small Business for America’s Future network was conducted from Aug. 13 – Oct. 5, 2026.