About a third of the small firms in our study have three months of expenses in the bank. About one in ten could last only a week. Most have access to credit, and when they ask for more, they usually get it. Yet two-thirds say they'll rely mainly on savings, not credit, to fund their next investment. Why? And why can the same set of bookkeeping records lead one lender to offer a loan and another to turn it down? Earlier this month, the Financial Access Initiative presented pre

A few weekends ago, while waiting at a crosswalk in New York City, I overheard a conversation between what appeared to be two small business owners. The part I caught was something we hear all too often from small business owners in the U.S.: the long hours they devote to their businesses each week, weekends included, and their shared desire to “just have a break.” Part of what fills those hours is the range of roles an owner personally covers: operator, strategist, bookkee

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

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