Wow, there are definitely many things that are “killing small businesses” today, don’t you think?
The Wall Street Journal They say These tariffs are “crushed” small businesses. Center progress for America They say The same thing. US Chamber of Commerce They say This tariff is “having real and destructive effects on thousands of small businesses across the country.” MSNBC They say This tariff uncertainty is also “killing” small businesses. A mother and daughter who started a business in Austin Say that President Trump’s tariff They are “murdered” them. New Republic They say Trump’s tariffs are “already destroyed” to small businesses.
Immigration, apparently, is doing damage as well. Newsweek’s immigration reporter Bilal Rahman They say Instead of tariffs, it is actually “large -scale exile” that is killing small businesses.
“In Houston, one-third of the construction workforce is unspecified,” they write. “Exclusion of these workers will have an impact of more than $ 50 billion to Houston GDP over the next 10 years. According to business leaders, economic side effects may be important for Texas cities, which greatly rely on immigrant labor.”
Let’s not forget the healthcare. A Forbes contributor They say This Obamcare is killing a small business.
and that’s not all! A linked piece They say Its inflation that is “killing” small business. Others think it is HeroicA pundit suggests that it is only “Big Business Thinking” He is killing them.
And on a writer Grain grain It believes that it is climate change that is killing small businesses. The author says, “Even the solvent of shops can be a struggle during the best times.” “But when climate-operated disasters strike, the effect on mother-and-paps can be particularly devastating-and for a long time.”
The alleged murder of all these small businesses is also a local story.
Juno Beach, Fla. Business owner in. Are upset About a proposed master plan that will transfer land use rules to be 90 percent of residential, which will definitely “kill” small businesses. In St. Louis, this is Icy roadIn Fairfax, Virginia And New York City, it is socialism – and Monster fence – Those who are killing small businesses. A person in Canada says that this is Gun -law Those who are killing small businesses. In the United Kingdom, the small business is the killer inheritance tax,
As if he was not enough, two lawyers say they Thinking Traders cash advance “quietly killing small businesses”.
Hey, I am not innocent. Back in 2019, I bent before my best tendency and wrote How Google’s monopoly is “killing” small businesses.
All these things – and many others – are apparently “killing” small businesses. And yet the latest Short business optimism index The National Federation of Independent Business found that small trade optimism has actually improved in this month and has been running above the average level which has been tracking for 52 years.
“In August, there was a significant improvement in overall commercial health,” NFIB reported. “When asked to rate the overall health of his business, 14 percent reported excellent (1 point above), and 54 percent reported it as good (2 digits). The twenty -seven percent reported his business health as fair (4 digits), and 4 percent poor (unchanged) reported.”
Labor Statistics Bureau said that job addition Was overstated Last year from one lakh. Meanwhile, private sector employment increased by 54,000 jobs in August and payment increased by 4.4 percent in August, according to August ADP National employment report Manufactured by ADP Research.
Pachex Small Business Employment Clock For the same period, it was found that the increase in jobs among American small businesses with less than 50 employees remained continuously, which “once again outlines the stability and flexibility of the small business labor market,” John Gibson, the president and the CEO said. (Note that both Paychex and ADP reports are based on the actual data of their customers, not survey like BLS).
PNC Bank Latest survey The “record level of optimism hit” among the small businesses, meanwhile, reporting the possibilities for their own business, reporting a 23-year record-high of business owners (84 percent). The semi-annual survey, which concluded on 5 August, showed the numbers trending upwards than spring (78 percent) and final decline (76 percent).
A survey published within last month from website provider Godaddy found 72 percent of their small trade respondents expected their own revenue to grow or remain stable in the next six months, believing with 45 per cent that the broad American economy would improve or improve in the same period.
Finally, MetLife and US Chamber of Commerce Third-Quarter 2025 Small Business Index Rose for a record high, even small businesses have seen rising costs as a major obstacle for growth, “reflects a flexible small business community that is carefully optimistic about the economy.”
So where is all this “murder” happening? Do we need to call the National Guard?
There is no question that there are many challenges for small businesses this year, including tariffs, inflation, rising health care costs and shortage of labor. There is no debate that things are “uncertain”. But when it comes to economy, politics and global events, when are things fixed?
The manufacturing activity is below, to ensure that, but many of my manufacturing customers are investing for whatever they see as a long -term change because more work comes to coastal. Lack of labor is difficult, but AI and other technologies have already begun to reduce that pain. People are struggling in construction and actual industries, but potentially earn huge profits when the mortgage rates eventually fall and the demand for housing is released.
The reality is that there are 34 million small business In this country. Some have more challenges than others. When this storm comes in Oklahoma City, some businesses become “killed”. But when it is sunny in Florida, other people flourish. When prices increase due to tariffs, some businesses become “killed”. But when buyers seek alternative products, other businesses fill the need.
Startups have been at the record high in the last five years. Entrepreneurs are everywhere. Main street shops mostly hire. Online merchant platforms such as Amazon and ETS, where small businesses make parts of the lion of their commerce, continue to report strong earnings.
And yet people like to write that small businesses are “being killed.” This is a wrong word. “Challed” can be a more suitable word – certainly not killed.
Jean is the founder of Marx Marx Group, a small business counseling firm.
