by Admin | Oct 30, 2025 | Economic Insight, SMB Leadership, Strategy Planning
Are rising costs squeezing your business margins? You’re not alone. 75% of small businesses cite rising costs as their top financial challenge, according to the Federal Reserve’s 2024 Small Business Credit Survey released in March 2025. The key to...
by Admin | Oct 16, 2025 | Becoming Bankable, SMB Leadership, Strategy Planning
A Persistent Decline in Credit Quality For the 13th consecutive quarter, banks are reporting a decline in small business credit quality, according to the recently published Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Q2 2025 Small Business Lending Survey. While interest...
by Admin | Oct 2, 2025 | Business Strategy, SMB Leadership, Strategy Planning
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has introduced the Manufacturing Loan Program (MLP), a dedicated track within its existing loan system. Rather than creating a new product, the program brings together two long-standing SBA tools, the 7(a) loan and the 504 loan,...
by Admin | Sep 25, 2025 | Becoming Bankable, Economic Insight, SMB Leadership, Strategy Planning
In a recent post, we highlighted a paradox in the small business landscape: optimism was climbing, but investment lagged. The latest NFIB Small Business Economic Trends report (August 2025) shows the same pattern playing out in financing. Borrowing Is at Its Lowest in...
by Admin | Sep 11, 2025 | Business Strategy, SMB Leadership, Strategy Planning
Generative AI is quickly becoming an essential element of the small business toolbox. In just two years, adoption among U.S. small businesses has jumped from less than one in four to a clear majority. So how are early adopters using it? Nearly two-thirds (63%) of SMBs...
by Admin | Sep 4, 2025 | Business Strategy, SMB Leadership, Strategy Planning
The small business labor shortage has evolved from a pandemic disruption into a structural challenge that shows no signs of resolution. NFIB data from 2020 through 2025 reveals a persistent dual crisis affecting small business hiring nationwide. The Dual Nature of the...