By Jasmine Browley ·Updated November 30, 2021
Many of us took a huge sigh of relief when Joe Biden officially took office in January. Now, nearly a year into his term, Black small business owners aren’t holding their breath when it comes to seeing substantive changes from the very administration that relied so heavily on our votes months ago.
According to new data from Momentive (formerly SuveyMonkey) and Operation HOPE, Black small business owners Black small business owners’ (SBOs) expectations for changes in government policies and regulations—along with their expectations for President Biden—continue a downward slide.
Findings show that Black small business owners’ expectations for President Biden’s potential positive impact dropped 22 points since last quarter (65% in Q2 to 43% in Q3). Positive expectations of those aged 65+ dropped 30 points (91% in Q2 to 61% in Q3).
Additionally, positive expectations of all policies and regulations dropped in Q3. Since Q1, positive expectations of government regulations dropped 18%, followed by 14% in tax policy, and 13% in technological innovation. The report also showed a decline in the positive expectations of women and less experienced small business owners especially contributed to this trend.
The findings also shed light on how Black small business owners feel about their stability as a result of being impacted by COVID-19.
A third (37%) of Black small business owners say their business cannot continue operating more than a year under the current restrictions related to controlling the coronavirus outbreak. In fact, a majority of those aged 65+ (53%) say that their business cannot last more than a year (40% say it can survive more than a year).
A significant majority of Black SBOs do not think their business will “get back to normal” after the pandemic. Instead, 7 in 10 (69%) Black SBOs say that there will be a “new normal” of conducting business.
Black SBOs identified a number of issues that impacted their business this past year. In particular, Black SBOs identify cost of supplies (49% say a lot, 27% say a little), restrictions related to COVID-19 (43% say a lot, 31% say a little), and supply chain disruptions (37% say a lot, 27% say a little) as the main culprits that have affected their business in the past year.
This online poll was conducted August 24 – October 1, 2021 among 611 adults who participate in the 1MBB initiative, minority small business owners (SBO) and entrepreneurs, including 454 Black women and 150 Black men.
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