As Small Business Week begins, Cook County small business owners remain positive

National Small Business Week, which begins Sunday, May 4, celebrates the impact small businesses have on the U.S. economy and communities, which includes employing almost half the workers and generating half the gross domestic product of the country.

Given the importance of small businesses to the nation’s economy, it’s crucial that they’re supported so that they can succeed and grow.

And yet, many challenges face these entrepreneurs. Higher tariffs may increase prices. Labor shortages remain a huge problem. Upcoming changes in tax laws and new developments with AI are leading up to big decisions, significant disruption and potential opportunities. Running a small business in 2025 isn’t easy.

So how are small businesses doing? It’s a mixed bag.

According to the National Federation of Independent Business, the small business Optimism Index declined in March to fall just below its 51-year average. Uncertainty also reached its second-highest ever reading. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also reported a dip in confidence and the number of small business owners who said they were concerned about their revenues and uncertainty reached its highest level since 2021. The chamber’s overall score, a measure of small business confidence, fell back to where sentiment stood a year ago.

Businesses in Cook County generally mirrored these results. Here’s what they had to say:

• Carly Perez, owner of Devine Design & Marketing, Rolling Meadows

“2025 is full of opportunity — but it’s also real work, especially for women trying to build sustainable, values-driven, and standout agencies. We’ve benefited from a strong community of women rewriting the rules, sharing resources, and lifting each other up. Keeping talent is definitely another challenge we are facing. The creative world is shifting fast, and so are the expectations of designers, developers, and strategists. The next two years our goal is to be more nimble, strategic, and value-driven. We are working to embrace AI and technology without losing our creative edge and plan to focus on building deeper client relationships.”

• Mark Leers, owner of Meadows Dog House, Rolling Meadows

“The biggest challenges we tend to face are staffing. We are grateful and appreciative of our current staff who some have been with us for almost 10 years. The other challenge we are facing is managing our capacity of dogs (having more customers than we can handle), which is a great challenge to have. But we are very optimistic for 2025-2026, we want to continue to put out a superior product and fair pricing to the community. Word-of-mouth has helped us grow tremendously.”

• Louise Cohen, owner of Positive Attitude Coaching, Schaumburg

“My main business challenge is marketing and business development and getting a company or team to become more open to the idea of working with a business coach, particularly if they have never thought about going outside their company to get help with their business problems. Despite these challenges, I am generally optimistic and continue to get feedback about companies having success all around the world. I’m finding that, in the past, the CEO or the top manager would be the top decision maker to solve problems. Many companies are now trying to set up a new system to allow every employee to give their feedback on the problem.”

• Stacy Lee, owner of Coffee Haus, Schaumburg

“I believe we have a very positive outlook for the future and because of that we are investing in our business. Our last interior renovation was done about 8-9 years ago and recently, we’ve been planning another renovation to offer our customers a better environment and atmosphere. Unfortunately, the costs for ingredients, labor, and rent have all increased significantly, so we had no choice (but) to increase, too. However, we continue to prioritize the quality of our drinks and customer service and believe that if we continue to focus on the quality of our products (we) will continue to be successful.”

• Angela Marellino, owner of Mad Men Barber Shop, Schaumburg

“One of the biggest challenges we’ve been facing this year is a lack of available staff and difficulty finding reliable employees who are eager to work. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been a real struggle to attract and retain the talent we need to operate at full capacity. Many people have left the workforce or are hesitant to return, so the pool of qualified applicants has shrunk significantly. We’re having to get creative with our hiring and retention strategies to try to overcome this labor shortage. Our top priority is growing our team again and bringing on new talented employees. We believe that investing in our people will be key to driving the recovery and future growth of our business. However, we remain cautiously optimistic about the future of our business over the next few years and we are focused on rebuilding and regaining the ground we lost during that difficult period. At the same time, we are closely monitoring economic conditions and making adjustments to our operations and strategies as needed. We know that the road ahead may not be easy, but we remain optimistic that with hard work, smart planning, and a positive mindset, we can get our business back on a strong upward trajectory in 2025 and 2026!”

• Gene Marks is a CPA who owns and operates The Marks Group PC, experts in customer relationship management technologies.