Expectations vs. Reality: How Does Running a Small Firm Stack Up Against Owners’ Aspirations?

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, bookkeeper, marketer, problem-solver. For many owners, building, growing, and sustaining a business demands constant attention, leaving little room to step away.

This raises important questions about the realities of small business ownership. Does “being your own boss” feel the way owners expected it to when they first started their businesses? Does the autonomy of owning a business actually create flexibility, or simply shift when and how work gets done? What does the week-to-week management of a small firm really look like?

Early data from Small Firm Diaries USA is beginning to shed some light on these questions.

What do business owners want from entrepreneurship?

Drawing on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs, the Kauffman Foundation found that among employer business owners, wanting to be their own boss and pursuing greater income were the two most common motivations — each cited as “very important” by more than half of the sample. Flexible hours and balancing work and family were also frequently cited, notably more so by women than men. Further, a 2024 Gallup survey found that being one's own boss (57%) and having the opportunity to earn more (54%) topped the list of motivations for business owners in the U.S., with 42% of respondents also citing schedule flexibility as a key reason.

Data from SFD USA reveals some similarities. Over 70% of our sample said they started a business because they wanted to be their own boss and have more autonomy. Wanting to make a difference in their community (71%) was also frequently reported, followed by flexibility in hours (57%), because it was the best avenue for their ideas (53%), and the perceived opportunity for greater income (51%). But how does the lived experience of these owners stack up against their reasons for starting their business?

Small business owners are working long hours and wearing many hats, which inhibits the flexibility of running their own business

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the average number of hours worked per week by incorporated self-employed individuals at just over 40. Similarly, a survey by Adobe found that over 20% of small business owners work more than 50 hours a week.

In the SFD USA sample, most owners are dedicating at least 40 hours to their firm each week, and over one-third are spending 50 hours or more. Their most common activities are general business operations (on average, 24% of their week) and making products or providing services to customers (22%). But they are also spending time on marketing/sales (13%), strategic activities (13%), financial management (12%), people management (9%), and legal and regulatory compliance (4%).

Figure 4. Percentage of time owners spend on tasks each week

Running a small firm often means being responsible for many tasks

Part of what drives the hours spent working in the business each week is the sheer scope of tasks that owners are personally responsible for. Running a business doesn’t just mean doing the core work that started the business; it means being your own marketer, accountant, IT department, and HR manager all at the same time.

Among the sample, almost 90% of owners handle all marketing and sales internally, with only about one-tenth employing dedicated sales staff. More specifically, over half of owners personally built and continue to maintain their own websites, and almost four-fifths run their own social media accounts. More than half are also doing the bookkeeping themselves, even if they have someone checking or finalizing it for them.

The firms in SFD USA are of a particular size - they have between 1 and 20 paid workers. In general, these owners haven't yet crossed the threshold where hiring a dedicated manager becomes necessary or feasible. This contributes to why owners are stretched so thin. 

What this means for how we understand small firm decision-making

When we ask owners in our sample to describe what their firm will look like in 5 years, of the options available, the top 3 responses were that the firm will have expanded (over one-third), the firm will be financially stable (almost one-fifth), and owners will have more work/life balance (almost one-fifth). Less than 5% of owners said they would be able to delegate tasks to workers within the next 5 years, signaling their intention to continue stewarding most aspects of running the business.

The purpose of this blog is not to convince readers that small business ownership fails to deliver on its promise. Over half of our sample said they believe their household’s financial wellbeing has improved because of their business and that they have greater job security. Further, around four-fifths of our sample report greater confidence and sense of purpose since starting their business. These are not trivial outcomes. But as with our earlier blog describing how owners define success in multiple ways simultaneously — balancing financial performance against stability, community, and personal values — understanding what owners wanted when they started, and how that compares to how they actually spend their days gives us a more complete picture of why they make the choices they do.

And this more complete picture is important for designing products, programs, and policies that better meet the needs and provide more effective support to small firm owners. When an owner handles their own marketing strategy rather than hiring a specialist, it may reflect a deliberate choice, a cost constraint, a trust barrier, or simply a lack of time to do otherwise. When a firm does not hire a salesperson despite growing demand, the explanation may have more to do with the risks and costs of employing someone new than with any lack of ambition. When owners describe working far more hours a week than they expected to or would like to, this may say as much about the structure of small firm support ecosystems, including the tools, services, and resources available to help owners delegate and scale, as it does about the owners’ goals and motivations.