Wall Street has had a successful run, but Main Street is feeling excluded.

• Small business owners experienced minimal positive impact from recent stock market highs, and their views remain influenced by inflation concerns, according to the latest CNBC|SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey.
• Entrepreneurs across the political spectrum are concerned that policymakers are prioritizing Wall Street over Main Street, leaving them behind.

Small business owners are experiencing the same financial struggles as individuals, including rising costs, increased debt, and shrinking savings, despite overall economic growth.

According to the latest CNBC|SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey for Q2 2024, small business owners are experiencing minimal impact from the stock market's rise and are concerned that policymakers are prioritizing Wall Street over Main Street.

Since the pandemic began, small business owners have been concerned about inflation. In Q1 2024, they expressed cautious optimism that it would finally subside. However, with recent government inflation data showing unexpected price increases, their confidence in the Federal Reserve's ability to control inflation has decreased to 31%, down from a two-year high of 35% in Q1 2024.

Despite the 2024 stock market rally, small business owners did not benefit from the gains in chip stocks like Nvidia and AMD, as well as the IPO market slowdown of recent years.

A majority of small business owners surveyed (64%) have not seen any benefits from this year's stock market performance. Few believe that Wall Street has had a positive (17%) or negative (15%) impact on their business. It seems that Wall Street is not a significant factor in the daily lives of small businesses.

A national sample of 2,130 self-identified small business owners ages 18 and up participated in an online poll conducted by CNBC and SurveyMonkey from April 8 to 12, 2024.

Where Democrat and Republican small business owners agree

Small businesses are generally unconfident in current business policies and policy-making, with 73% believing that these policies favor large companies over small businesses. This sentiment is shared by 79% of Republican and 71% of Democrat and independent small business owners, who both agree that business policies tend to favor large companies.

Small business owners, regardless of their political affiliation, agree that they have limited influence in business policy-making, with 86% expressing this sentiment. This is despite the fact that 99% of all businesses in the United States are small businesses.

In a politically divided climate, it is uncommon for small business owners from different political parties to find common ground. In our research, we discovered that Republican and Democrat small business owners had minimal agreement. For instance, 64% of Democrat small business owners believe the economy is "good or excellent," while 60% of Republican small business owners assert that it is "poor."

The seriousness of the issue is underscored when polarized groups express the same concerns. It is not just a partisan concern that small business owners lack a voice in policy-making. Their priorities and concerns are vital for policymakers and leaders to make informed decisions that benefit their constituents.