As National Small Business Week wraps up, immigrant entrepreneurs continue to face unprecedented lending restrictions while tariffs and predatory lenders circle struggling Main Street businesses. CAMEO Network CEO Carolina Martinez reveals the survival strategies keeping small businesses afloat.

The Brutal Reality Behind the Celebration

National Small Business Week arrived in May 2026 with its usual fanfare and ribbon-cutting ceremonies. But behind the smiling faces and congratulatory press releases, America’s small business owners are fighting for survival on multiple fronts.

Carolina Martinez, CEO of CAMEO Network, a national association serving 200,000 small businesses annually through 400 member organizations, does not mince words about the current crisis.

“We need to celebrate the resiliency of small businesses,” Martinez says. “But we also need to be honest and candid about it. There are so many different challenges coming from federal policy changes to rising costs to economic volatility hitting entrepreneurs from multiple directions at once.”

The numbers tell a stark story. According to the Federal Reserve’s latest Small Business Credit Survey, 77 percent of small businesses reported that tariffs and inflation were financial challenges in 2025. Only 52 percent of small businesses were approved for the full amount of financing they sought, down from 62 percent in 2019.

When Immigrant Entrepreneurs Lost Access to Capital

The most dramatic shift came quietly; without the media attention it deserved. On March 1, 2026, the Small Business Administration barred lawful permanent residents from accessing SBA 7(a) and 504 loans. By April 1, green card holders were shut out of all SBA lending programs entirely.

This policy change slammed the door on some of America’s most entrepreneurial communities. Immigrant entrepreneurs start new businesses at twice the rate of the U.S.-born population. Now they face a capital access crisis just as tariffs and rising costs squeeze their margins.

“These changes not only hurt communities, they hurt everything from the business owners themselves to the community,” Martinez explains. “Black, Latino and immigrant communities are among the most entrepreneurial in the nation. We would expect to have a lot more support for these business owners to foster their prosperity.”

The Trump administration also eliminated the Minority Business Development Agency and rolled back programs designed to eliminate redlining. The combined effect has been devastating for entrepreneurs of color who already faced the steepest barriers to capital.

The Racial Gap in Small Business Lending Widens

White-owned small businesses were nearly twice as likely as Black or Latino-owned small businesses to be fully approved for financing in 2025. The approval rates paint a clear picture: 57 percent for white-owned businesses compared to just 32 percent for Black-owned and 33 percent for Latino-owned businesses.

“The gap is so significant,” Martinez says. “And there are a couple of things we would like to encourage small businesses to understand. First, it is okay to ask for the money you need. Sometimes we tend to lower the number trying to figure out if we could survive with less. No. Figure out what your actual number is and ask for it.”

Martinez stresses the importance of building relationships with financial institutions before applying for loans. She encourages entrepreneurs to connect with Community Development Financial Institutions and small business support organizations that can guide them through the application process.

“This calls for more systemic changes that would allow lenders to focus on the stage of the business and not on the background of the owner,” she adds.

Tariffs Create Pandemic-Level Pressure

Small business owners describe the current environment as eerily similar to the early days of the pandemic. The sustained pressure from tariffs and inflation has forced entrepreneurs into constant crisis mode, pivoting and adapting just to keep their doors open.

“Businesses are feeling very much like they did during the pandemic,” Martinez reports. “They are finding themselves pivoting, thinking through how to be more creative in their business model, how to shift operations or be more efficient in their cost of goods or inventory or how they are sourcing their products.”

The businesses surviving this pressure share common strategies. They maintain cash cushions when possible, allowing them time to make strategic decisions rather than desperate ones. They connect with coaching networks that help them identify cost-cutting opportunities and new revenue streams. They monitor policy changes closely, staying ahead of tariff impacts on their specific industries.

Mom-and-pop shops feel these pressures far more acutely than large retailers with diversified supply chains and economies of scale. A single tariff change can wipe out a small business’s profit margin overnight.

Predatory Lenders Circle Desperate Business Owners

As traditional lending tightens and federal programs close to immigrant entrepreneurs, predatory lenders have seized the opportunity. They target small businesses unable to find traditional financing, offering quick cash to cover tariff-driven shortfalls or operational expenses.

Martinez warns business owners to protect themselves before it’s too late.

“The rule of thumb I always go by is if it looks too good to be true, it’s probably the case,” she says. “You want to make sure you ask about the APR, not any other metric. You want to understand what the terms are, how the payments are structured, if there is any prepayment penalty.”

She urges entrepreneurs to connect with Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, or Community Development Financial Institutions before accepting any financing offer. These organizations can help business owners understand what type of capital they actually need and connect them with responsible lenders.

The Lifeline: Free Resources Still Available

Despite federal headwinds, significant support infrastructure remains available to small business owners. Many entrepreneurs simply do not know these resources exist.

Community Development Financial Institutions continue to serve entrepreneurs shut out of traditional banking. These mission-driven lenders focus on underserved communities and often provide technical assistance alongside capital.

Small Business Development Centers and Women’s Business Centers offer free coaching and connections to responsible capital providers. In California, the SCALE program provides free business coaching and capital access support to entrepreneurs across the state.

“There are still resources available,” Martinez emphasizes. “We want to make sure small businesses know about them and reach out to access those services so they can continue focusing on their business.”

Business owners can find local support by searching online for “Small Business Development Center near me,” “Women’s Business Center near me,” or “CDFI” plus their state name. CAMEO Network’s website at cameonetwork.org and California’s SCALE program at SCALEnetworkcalifornia.org also connect entrepreneurs to member organizations providing coaching and capital.

Three Moves Every Small Business Owner Should Make Now

Martinez offers concrete advice for small business owners feeling squeezed by current economic conditions.

First, gain deep knowledge of your financial situation. Identify your biggest expenses and explore opportunities to reduce them. On the revenue side, consider whether you can pivot to reach new markets or develop new income streams.

“It’s really both sides,” she explains. “The first thing is doing an internal assessment of how to improve revenue and how to lower expenses.”

Second, stay informed about policy changes at the city, county, state, and federal levels. The landscape remains fluid, with new tariffs and regulations potentially impacting specific industries on short notice.

Third, and perhaps most critical, seek support from organizations that understand your specific situation. Do not try to navigate these challenges alone.

“Look for support from people who could really help you think through your specific situation,” Martinez urges. “Who could help you determine if there are other options you could be considering or connect you to a broader network or markets.”

What CAMEO Network Is Doing

As federal support contracts, organizations like CAMEO Network have stepped up their advocacy and service delivery.

The network tracks policy changes affecting small business access to capital and services. They work with Congress to prevent harmful guidance from taking effect and ensure CDFIs can continue deploying capital to underserved communities.

“We want to make sure that capital is still deployed through CDFIs and that business coaching services are still available for small businesses throughout the country,” Martinez says.

CAMEO Network also supports its member organizations with infrastructure development, helping nonprofits maintain high-quality programs despite economic uncertainty. Through partnerships like the California SCALE program, they connect entrepreneurs directly to coaching and capital providers.

The network’s 400 member organizations serve approximately 200,000 small businesses annually with training, credit assistance, and loans. These firms, largely startups with fewer than six employees, support or create 300,000 new jobs and generate $15 billion in economic activity.

Resilience in the Face of Crisis

National Small Business Week 2026 arrives at a moment of genuine crisis for American entrepreneurs. Federal lending restrictions have locked out immigrant business owners. Racial disparities in capital access persist and widen. Tariffs continue to squeeze thin margins. Predatory lenders prey on desperate business owners.

Yet small businesses continue showing the resilience that has always defined American entrepreneurship. They pivot. They adapt. They find new markets and new revenue streams. They connect with support networks and responsible capital providers.

“We need to highlight how resilient, how strong, how innovative these business owners are,” Martinez reflects. “How much they can pivot and continue in operations and that there are different resources still available for them.”

The question facing policymakers is whether America will support these entrepreneurs or continue building barriers. The stakes extend beyond individual businesses to entire communities and the broader economy.

For now, entrepreneurs know they cannot wait for policy changes. They must navigate the landscape as it exists today, armed with information about predatory lending red flags, knowledge of free resources, and connections to support networks that can help them survive and eventually thrive.

The celebration of National Small Business Week rings hollow for many. But the resilience it honors remains real, born of necessity and sustained by community support that refuses to let these businesses fail.