Strong Data. Deeper Reach.

What the Bank of America Business Owner Report Means for the Entrepreneurs We Serve.
By Andrea Ierace, SVP of Lending, Ascendus

I recently attended the Bank of America Business Owner Report Kick-Off Event, hosted by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Foundation. The room brought together small business owners, nonprofit leaders, CDFIs, and community partners from across the Boston area — exactly the kind of cross-sector gathering that makes this work better.

Bank of America shared findings from their 2025 Business Owner Report, and the data is energizing. Nearly three out of four business owners expect their revenue to increase in the next 12 months. Almost six in ten plan to expand their businesses. And 83% intend to seek financing this year. Small business owners are optimistic, forward-looking, and ready to grow.

That ambition is what we show up for every day at Ascendus. And it is what makes reports like this one so important for our work.

What the data tells us — and where we come in.

The Bank of America Business Owner Report is a rigorous, nationally representative study that gives the entire small business ecosystem — banks, CDFIs, policymakers, technical assistance providers — a shared picture of where entrepreneurs stand. It helps all of us ask better questions and direct resources more effectively.

What stands out to me as a lender is the financing data. 83% of business owners plan to obtain financing in the coming year — through business credit cards, personal savings, traditional bank loans, and other vehicles. That is a clear signal of ambition and growth orientation. It is also a reminder of how important it is that entrepreneurs enter those conversations prepared: with organized financials, a clear understanding of their cash flow, and a realistic picture of what they can afford to repay.

At Ascendus, that preparation is core to what we do. We call it the path to ascension — helping entrepreneurs build the financial health and knowledge they need to access capital successfully and grow sustainably.

The pressures are real — and they require a full-ecosystem response.

The report also captures the headwinds. Inflation is the top concern for 70% of business owners. Tariff policy and the U.S. political environment follow closely. Interest rates are impacting borrowing decisions for more than half of respondents. And 77% say their costs have increased over the past 12 months, with average cost increases of 18%.

These are the conditions our clients navigate every day. They are also why the workshop component of this event mattered so much. Giving entrepreneurs practical tools — for cash flow management, bookkeeping, business readiness — is not just good financial education. It is how we help them stay in business and keep moving forward, even when the macroeconomic environment is working against them.

The power of being in the room together.

What struck me most about this event was the quality of the partnership it represented. Banks, CDFIs, nonprofits, and the Chamber Foundation — all working toward the same goal. When institutions like Bank of America and community lenders like Ascendus are in the room together, we can do more for small business owners than either of us could alone.

The report notes that 91% of business owners plan to adopt digital tools in the next five years, and that AI has already been integrated into operations by 77% of them. That pace of change is exciting. It is also a reminder that the entrepreneurs who will benefit most from this transformation are the ones who have the right partners alongside them — guiding them through complexity, not just offering products.

That is the work. And I am grateful to do it alongside partners who share our commitment to an inclusive, resilient small business community.

This Way Up.

Andrea Ierace is the Senior Vice President of Lending at Ascendus. She attended the Bank of America Business Owner Report Kick-Off Event, hosted by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Foundation on March 24, 2026. The Bank of America 2025 Business Owner Report was conducted by Ipsos in September 2025 among 819 small and 253 medium-sized business owners across the United States.

Learn more about Ascendus’s lending products and financial education programs at ascendus.org.