May 24, 2024
Many small business owners are dissatisfied with how candidates have addressed issues that could affect them.
Small business voters could have a big impact on who wins the 2024 presidential election.
At the same time, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump may have a hard time convincing business owners who they should vote for as they prepare to face off.
A whopping 96% of small business owners report that they are likely to vote in November.
However, 20% of them report that they have not determined who will be the nation’s next president. According to a survey of Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Business Voices. About 1,260 small business owners from 47 states, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico and Guam were surveyed in April 2024. That means homeowners are more undecided than 12% of the general public.
The survey indicated that 55% of owners are dissatisfied with the way candidates have focused on minor business issues, compared to only 27% who say they are satisfied. More specifically, 71% reported that inflation pressures have increased in their businesses since three months ago. And 49% revealed that they have had to increase the prices of goods or services.
Additionally, business owners surveyed shared that rising costs in several areas greatly affect their business costs as owners. For example, 81% point to higher labor costs, 67% to the increased cost of goods, 63% to higher spending on employee benefits and health insurance, 57% to the increased cost of access to capital, and 48% to the increase in the cost of rent.
“America’s small business owners today are experiencing operating costs that are increasingly unaffordable,” Jessica Johnson-Cope, Bronx CEO and President., Johnson Security Bureau, based in New York, told Goldman Sachs.
He added: “Small business owners are resilient and most hold on despite the challenges. As the campaign season begins, small business owners want policymakers and candidates to focus on issues that improve the small business climate because small businesses are America’s future.”
Other report revealed that black voters are more certain about Biden than Trump in having the attributes necessary for re-election. About 55% of black voters say it is essential to know who wins.
Interestingly, about 49% of Black voters indicated they would replace Trump and Biden with different candidates if they could.