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The majority of small business owners are feeling confident, according to a new survey. 66% feel their business is thriving. Joining me now to break down some of the results of the survey, plus even more of the sense of the state of small business, we've got Robert Rodriguez, who is the head of business banking for the Northeast region at Chase for Business. Great to have you here in studio with us.

Thanks, Brad. Appreciate it.

Absolutely. So, what are you hearing from small businesses about their success right now and where they're perhaps feeling pressures as well to balance it out?

Yeah, I mean, look, you just said it, right? 66% feel their business is thriving. That's consistent with August's results. We saw 67% there. So, I think we should feel really good about the consistency. I can tell you when I'm with business owners, you know, they are a resilient bunch, so they're adjusting. I think there's still some concern, right? Inflation, you just did a great segment on Thanksgiving day meals, right? So inflation is still a concern. 34%, you know, have that as a watch-out item. But I would say, you know, overall, despite those challenges, they still feel really good about the outlook as we head into 2025.

As they think about their outlook, how are they navigating things like employment and the labor economy as well and thinking about their hiring plans?

Yeah, 19% of the small business owners are still considered concerned about labor shortages. I think it's more about retention of talent, right? Keeping those employees. At the end of the day, obviously, everybody's looking for a fair wage. So, you know, between inflation and costs of goods going up, it's been really challenging for small business owners to maintain, you know, a solid workforce. But I'd say again, they're optimistic about their outlook.

And so with that in mind, I mean, it seems like right now 37% saying their revenue is up somewhat or significantly. I mean, how do they anticipate that factoring into their own growth projections as well for small businesses?

Yeah, you know, I think with the recent rate reduction, it's really enticed clients to think about, you know, how to access capital beyond just their own wallet, right? And when we see that, it's obviously good for banks, but at the end of the day, we're seeing more interest in clients coming to us with working capital needs. About 60% are considering a banking change right now, which is awesome. You know, so that suggests clients, you know, going out there and seeing what's out there from a banking perspective is also really interesting.

You know, it's an election year and a lot of small businesses are trying to figure out, okay, what could our tax rate look like, or even for the products that we might be taking in from overseas, how might that impact our costs and what extent does that mean we need to pass it through to consumers? How are they evaluating it?

Yeah, I think that's always the juggle, right? It's figuring out what's coming, you know, it is an election year, you know, and with that, at Chase, we're here to support small businesses whether they're start, run, grow, right? Every stage of their life cycle. I'd say for small business owners, because back to their resiliency, you know, I think they're willing to navigate the waters, but we're there to obviously be trusted advisors every step of the way, provide advice. So, you know, I think we should feel good about, you know, 60 plus percent seeing optimistic about the turn of the year.

What policy would small business owners like to see in order to feel like, okay, they're insulated or their business is thought about by a future administration, perhaps?

You know, I think with whatever side of the aisle you're on, I think small business owners fuel the economy. They are the lifeblood of America. I mean, you see that day in and day out.

Many of our first jobs.

That, well, that's for sure. And so I'm lucky to be in a position where I get to interface with small business owners each and every day. So I can tell you that regardless of the outcome, I think, you know, what we focus on is just being there by their side and making sure that, you know, anything that comes their way that they're being able to adapt and prosper.

Absolutely. I still remember my first job. Stadium Grill, West Chester, Pennsylvania. Small business, local business. There you go.

I worked in a video store, Brad.

Oh yeah?

Yeah, I remember those VHS. Oh wow, I do remember those.

All right, Rob, we're gonna talk about that during the break since we're out. Robert Rodriguez who is the head of business banking for the Northeast region over at Chase Business. Thanks so much.

Thank you, Brad.