Bloomberg Businessweek · Oct 21, 2026 · 38m · 30m saved
With Stevie Baron, CEO of Chase for Business · Katie Kirkpatrick, President & CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber · Leslie Wims Morris, CEO of Chase Auto · Reggie Washington, Restaurateur at SONAT Hospitality Group
About 60% of small-business owners in Chase's monthly survey are optimistic about their own companies, but only about 30% feel the same way about the US economy. Stevie Baron, CEO of Chase for Business, laid out that split on Bloomberg Businessweek from Chase's Make Your Move Summit in Atlanta, in an episode that also heard from Katie Kirkpatrick of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, Leslie Wims Morris of Chase Auto and restaurateur Reggie Washington.
The hard numbers look fine: payrolls and consumer spending are both up. The owners are nervous anyway, about inflation, tariffs and conflict in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine.
"About 60% of them are excited about where their businesses are heading and they're very optimistic. Only about 30% of those same folks feel the same way about the economy." — Stevie Baron
Stevie's bank serves roughly 7.5 million small-business owners and is aiming for 10 million. Katie sells Atlanta to relocating employers, Leslie runs the car-lending arm of the same bank, and Reggie is the one on the panel who has to make payroll at a restaurant.
The full episode is covered here so you can skip it. 38 minutes of audio, 8 minutes of reading.
Here are the 6 insights that matter.
Key Takeaways
Small-business owners are twice as optimistic about their own firms as about the economy
About 60% against about 30% in Chase's monthly survey
Chase has committed to $80B of new small-business lending over 10 years
Stevie calls skipping AI "an existential threat" for a small business
Georgia has been ranked the top state for business 13 years in a row, and Atlanta's growth now runs into housing costs
A new car averages $50,000, yet US sales have held near 16 million a year
GLP-1 drugs and non-drinkers have put a non-alcoholic beverage line on Reggie's P&L
1. Upbeat Owners, Wary Economy
Stevie opened with the gap in Chase's own survey of its small-business customers. Owners like their own prospects and distrust everything around them.
Chase's survey finds owners twice as optimistic about their firms as about the economy
"About 60% of them are excited about where their businesses are heading and they're very optimistic. Only about 30% of those same folks feel the same way about the economy." — Stevie Baron
Inflation, tariffs and geopolitical tension all came up as reasons for the caution, even though payrolls and consumer spending have both risen. Stevie's case for why that mood matters beyond Chase's own book rests on two figures: small business is 45% of US GDP, and it does most of the country's hiring.
Small businesses make two of every three new US hires
"Two out of every three new hires in the U.S. is done so by a small business." — Stevie Baron
