By Alexandra Rosen, Global Head of GoDaddy Small Business Research Lab

Recently, headlines have been dominated by news about tariffs and market disruptions, and a top-of-mind question is: what does the economic news of today mean for small businesses?

In the last week of July, GoDaddy Small Business Research Lab completed a survey of about 1,400 small businesses and microbusinesses (defined as having a GoDaddy domain and an active website, the majority having fewer than 9 employees). At a time of constant change, we wanted to get a timely pulse on what small business owners were thinking and feeling.

What did the survey find?

Entrepreneurs are not changing their long-term growth or near-term hiring plans, despite mitigated optimism on the next 6 months for the national economy and their own revenue. Detailed findings below.

Are they affected by evolving tariff policies?

Actually, only somewhat.

69% of microbusiness and small business owners have no international supply chain exposure and are insulated due to domestic operations.

• 45% source more than half of their materials within their city or state
• 65% primarily serve local or in-state customers

And how are these small businesses feeling?

• 72% expect their own revenues to increase or stay stable
• 45% expect the broader U.S. economy to hold steady or improve

In short: they seem to demonstrate planned growth with an adjusted timeline on returns.

How are these small businesses doing?

• Two-thirds (65%) of small business owners report stable or rising revenues
• Over 40% earn more than $60,000 annually, and more than 1 in 5 surpass $120,000
• 30% plan to hire additional employees in the next 12 months

Do these small and microbusinesses still support households and communities?

• 1 in 3 consider themselves their household’s primary breadwinner (they bring in more than 51% of total household income)
• Almost half (47%) say their small business is their main source of household income, and of those, the majority (65%) are also the breadwinners

The research uncovers almost no significant shift in long-term entrepreneurial ambitions over the last 5 years of surveys. Rather than chasing rapid or aggressive expansion, business owners are setting realistic, sustainable growth goals: 

• Less than half (40%) prefer to remain solo entrepreneurs – which is up slightly in the last 2 years
• 25% plan moderate growth into a small business with some employees
• Approximately 9% aspire to significant, higher-level expansion

Updated economic impact of microbusinesses

In addition to surveys, the GoDaddy Small Business Research Lab partners with UCLA Anderson Forecast to annually assess their impact on median household incomes and job growth since 2020.

The most recent results confirm the following: small businesses continue to create jobs and boost household incomes across their local communities: 

• Each entrepreneur creates about eight new jobs, whether hiring directly or creating demand for other roles
• A one percent increase in entrepreneurial activity (aka the number of microbusinesses with an online presence) correlates to a 6% rise in local median household income at the county-level

MAI Report

Momentum Breaks Records: Explore the 2025 GoDaddy Microbusiness Activity Index Annual Report, created in partnership with UCLA Anderson Forecast.

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Full Survey Infographic

For the complete visualization of key insights, download the PDF.

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