Small Businesses Are Borrowing Again, Mostly on Lines of Credit
We have tracked the decline in small business applicant credit quality across 15 straight quarters through 4Q25, and in 1Q26 it declined again, the 16th in a row. What changed is on the demand side. According to the latest Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Small...
The Smallest Firms Are Carrying the Heaviest Load
Small business profitability declined further through May 2026, according to the June edition of the Bank of America Institute Small Business Checkpoint. The inflow-to-outflow ratio, a measure of cash flow health, fell across every revenue tier. But the decline has...
The Two-Track Economy: What Small Business Owners Need to Understand Right Now
The current economy, also described as “K-shaped” or “bifurcated”, depending on which numbers or reports you read, appears to be doing well. Small business owners know better. This is the two-track economy, and the data suggests it is widening. Select macroeconomic...
Your Small Business AI Stack
Last week, we explored why readiness, not cost, is the real barrier to AI adoption for small businesses. The JPMorgan Chase Institute’s April 2026 research confirms it: the businesses moving beyond experimentation are not the ones with the biggest budgets. They...