Small Business Optimism Is Back!

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American small businesses are more optimistic than they’ve been in four years, according to a new report from Alignable, a business networking platform.

That’s a night-and-day difference from the last time we checked in on this survey… which was during the peak “malaise” of the administration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

According to the report, 62% of small business owners were optimistic about their prospects in 2025, with nearly half (48%) feeling more upbeat now than they did at the start of 2024. Clearly, that’s attributable to last month’s inauguration of U.S. president Donald Trump.

“Many credited (their) optimism to the results of 2024’s presidential election and the hope that a new administration will make life better for small business owners,” Alignable’s Chuck Casto, a self-described “small business crusader” observed.

Having said that, this media outlet has written previously on the economic headwinds Trump and his administration are facing. We’ve also been among the only “conservative” outlets (whatever that means these days) in the nation to consistently highlight the contributions of the first Trump administration to the prevailing inflationary pressure he now inherits.

Because that matters…

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While small businesses remain bullish on Trump, they are still struggling to make ends meet – a situation exacerbated in South Carolina given our anti-competitive tort climate.

Some key excerpts from the study:

• 67% of small business owners are struggling with revenue shortfalls
• 48% have experienced rent increases
• 39% were unable to pay their rent in full and on time in January,
• 32% have a month or less of cash reserves, and 
• 30% have expressed fears that proposed tariffs will decrease their income.

This last item is worth considering as Trump has made it abundantly clear he is willing to leverage tariffs in an effort to get other nations to bend to his will.

Despite the majority of small business owners expressing optimism in January, an even higher percentage say they’re making less now than they did a year ago. As the chart below shows, 67% of respondents say their revenue from the past month is down compared to January 2024.

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Alignable based its data on 3,714 responses from randomly selected small business owners surveyed from January 7-31, 2025, supplemented by prior input from 80,000+ small business owners. According to Casto, the report “sheds light on the opportunities and challenges small business owners face, including rent struggles, which often indicate deeper financial issues.”

As I have often pointed out, FITSNews is an unapologetic champion of small businesses – whose owners are “always the ones getting squeezed (and) never the ones getting any help.” Palmetto State policymakers are always ready to bail out companies “too big to fail” – or dole out subsidies to politically connected corporations – but small businesses and the individual consumers they rely on are never afforded any relief.

South Carolina “Republicans” love to mindlessly grow government – and reward their crony capitalist masters – but they never watch out for the small business owners who form the backbone of job creation. And who create the very fabric of our local communities. Also, as the ongoing battle over tort reform is proving, dishonest insider interests control far too many of these politicians – and they will do and say anything to maintain their competitive advantage.

Let’s hope when it comes to tax and tort reform, that Palmetto State leaders start heeding the job creators… not the job killers.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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