MARCH 20, 2024 – DALLAS – National Write Your Congressman (NWYC), an organization that gives small businesses a voice in government, released its Q1 2024 Index measuring Congressional and business sentiment. The Index found inflation, immigration, taxes, and the U.S. economy as top concerns for business owners this election year.

The Index also revealed employment laws, environmental regulations, tax compliance, financial regulations, and healthcare regulations as the top legislative issues impacting small business operations.  

"As we enter a new presidential election year with a divided Congress, small business owners are concerned about how inflation is affecting their business costs and the impact of the election," said Randy Ford, President and COO of National Write Your Congressman. “Business leaders are still committed to communicating with their elected officials and know the importance their collective voice has on legislation impacting small business."

This November, a total of 468 seats in the U.S. Congress (33 Senate seats and all 435 House seats) are up for election. At the time of the survey, small business owners hope, satisfaction with government action, and trust in Members of Congress increased from last year and increased by 20 percent when surveyed in July 2020 in anticipation of the 2020 election.

Forty-five percent of business owners surveyed said they don’t trust the elected U.S. Congressional Members who represent them, a 20 percent increase in trust from the 2020 election cycle. In both 2020 and 2024, a little more than half of those surveyed said they are confident their U.S. Congressional Members know their opinions on important issues. In 2024, 44 percent of business owners believe U.S. Congressional Members do not act according to their constituents’ input, an improvement from 2020, when almost half (48 percent) of business owners believed their Congressional Members did not act according to constituents' input.

While most business owners were hopeful but not sure their voice impacts the legislative process, 32 percent of small business owners believe that using their voice shapes legislative decisions and contributes to policymaking.

The survey found business owners’ top five concerns in Q1 2024 to be inflation, taxes, keeping up with rising costs of employees’ pay/salary, hiring qualified workers, and health insurance expenses. Seventy-five percent of business owners said their business was not growing or has remained flat, while 25 percent of companies continue to grow.

Thirty-eight percent of small business owners could not afford a loan given current interest rates, and 23 percent were concerned about their ability to access capital in 2024.

"My top business concern is the rapidly rising cost of living for my employees, which directly affects my cost to hire new employees and retain existing employees. The overall cost of doing business is going up every month. Insurance costs are rising every year. All of these things increase the price I need to charge my customers,” said Todd May, President of Crossroads Construction Co. Inc., in Magna, Utah.

“Although the supply chain seems to be stabilizing, there are still a lot of holes and price inflation. This causes uncertainty of cost from one order to the next, and we have to requote every time a customer wants to place an order. We have seen lead times on some material increase to 26 weeks or, in some cases, a year or more,” said Don Gosbee, President of Optimum Systems International, Inc. in Arvada, Colorado.

NWYC provides members with nonpartisan information and research along with the tools they can use to connect with their representatives in Washington and advocate for the policies and actions that will help their small businesses succeed for their families, employees, and communities.

NWYC collected data using an online survey administered from February 27 through March 8, 2024. A total of 638 respondents participated. Respondents represent 45 of the 50 states in the U.S. Fifty-eight percent of business owners surveyed employ one to nine employees, and 39 percent employ 10 to 99 employees.

National Write Your Congressman (NWYC) is an organization that gives small businesses a voice in American government. As the nation's largest, privately held, nonpartisan membership organization made up of small businesses, NWYC is dedicated to the delivery of constituent opinions to representatives in Washington. For more than 60 years, NWYC has provided small business owners and operators the tools necessary to connect with members of Congress and a platform to let their collective voice be heard. NWYC's team of experts provides unbiased, nonpartisan information and research on top issues and pending legislation relevant to small business owners today. NWYC presents both sides of the issue so that members can form an educated opinion and let their opinions be heard.