The often-precarious state of operating a small business is seen in a new survey indicating that roughly 39% of such enterprises have less than one month’s worth of operating expenses in available cash.
The survey, conducted by the banking services provider Bluevine, additionally reveals that, in a pinch, just over 51% of such businesses would be forced into drawing from emergency reserves in order to meet a payroll.
Business owners surveyed were categorized as making anywhere from $50,000 to $5 million in annual revenue, with the vast majority acknowledging that they seem to get by with luck and pluck.
Other findings: roughly 38% of the survey’s 774 respondents earning $250,000 or less in annual revenue said they have no operating lines of credit. Some 63% of business owners making more than $250,000, on the other hand, had established such lines.
Roughly a quarter of the respondents said that loans for their operations are often difficult to obtain, with 38% contending that ongoing high interest rates are the greatest barrier to obtaining those loans.
Notes a narrative accompanying the survey: “Most owners do not keep the kind of cash cushion they should, and that gap shows up fast when payroll, taxes, or rush orders hit.”
Despite such challenges, a separate survey recently published by the Small Business Administration indicates that 88% of small business owners like what they are doing and are generally optimistic about the future.
According to the publication Entrepreneurs HQ the reasons why people decide to become small business owners in the first place are myriad, with 60% saying they like the idea of being their own boss and 47% wanting to exit the corporate world.
A less-stated reason may really go to the heart of matters in an intangible way, with 31% saying they simply wanted to “follow a passion.”
October 31, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
