top of page
Search
Credit, Risk, and Succession: Three opportunities to better support small firms
Last week we hosted a virtual faiVLive event sharing early findings from Small Firm Diaries USA, with three panelists who work with small firms from different angles: a CDFI lender, a national policy expert, and a city government program lead. The conversation raised three places where small firms could use better and more tailored support. 1. The credit problem is shifting from access to quality The landscape for small business credit has shifted in the last decade. “There
Tracy Cole and Laura Freschi
May 6
Beyond the bottom line: The importance of understanding how small firms define success
When we talk about what makes a small firm “successful,” we usually think about familiar financial metrics like profit margins and revenue growth. These measures are intuitive, easy to quantify, and deeply embedded in how lenders, policymakers, and analysts evaluate firm performance. But many small firm owners don’t define success solely in financial terms. They weigh financial viability with other factors like community impact, financial stability, and personal values. This
Tracy Cole
Apr 23
Early Findings from the Road: What we’re seeing so far in the SFD USA data
Over the past few weeks, the Small Firm Diaries research team has been visiting US cities to share what we're seeing in the data so far—stopping in St. Louis, Chicago, Baltimore, Atlanta, and New York, with Oakland still ahead on May 26. These conversations have been useful in both directions: hearing where our findings on growth, credit use, and jobs resonate with local audiences, and hearing the questions and pushback that have helped us sharpen our thinking.
Laura Freschi
Apr 16
Identifying idiosyncrasies in small firm data: Understanding what’s behind the data driving small firm policy
When trying to better understand small firms, some of the most important questions center on employment and jobs: How many jobs do small firms create? What is the quality of those jobs - particularly in terms of stability and security? Much of what we know about small firms comes from federal data, but like any data source, there are very real constraints that inhibit the insight provided by the available data.
Tracy Cole
Jan 7
Understanding the Pros and Cons of Digital Record-Keeping and Automation
In the United States, even the smallest businesses are connected to a digital ecosystem. We’ve found that the firms in the Small Firm Diaries USA study typically prepare records for quarterly or annual tax filings on some type of software, and these records are often linked to other digital financial information including bank and credit card accounts, point-of-sale (POS) and payroll services. This means that for the US arm of the study, the research team can draw on existin
Laura Freschi and Myriam Delmy
Dec 9, 2025
SFD USA faiVLive Recap
On November 19, 2025, FAI hosted a faiVLive webinar to introduce the Small Firm Diaries USA study. We shared early observations, and talked with expert panelists about how recent policy and program changes are affecting small businesses and organizations that support them.
Tracy Cole
Dec 1, 2025
New Publication Alert: Big Challenges for Small Firms
We’re pleased to share the release of a new Small Firm Diaries issue brief, “Big Challenges for Small Firms,” by Laura Freschi, Timothy Ogden, and Jonathan Morduch.
Laura Freschi
Nov 28, 2025
bottom of page