KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Most AAPI small business are optimistic about the future, but less optimistic than Black and Hispanic peers. This optimism is fueled in part by the availability of vaccines.

• In spite of this optimism, we are not out of the woods. AAPI business owners are least likely to have experienced signs of recovery and expect a longer road to recovery than White or Hispanic peers.

• On the policy advocacy front, AAPI business owners prioritize lower healthcare costs, corporate tax rates and simplified federal contracting opportunities.

BACKGROUND

After more than one year of lockdowns, devastating illness, and social unrest, there are signs that across the country customers are returning, and we’re getting back to business. Yet there are gaps in understanding what small business owners are experiencing and whether this emerging recovery is evenly distributed within the AAPI and other small business communities

METHODOLOGY

National ACE and Reimagine Main Street fielded a national survey of AAPI small business owners from April 28-June 8, 2021. In tandem, we fielded a survey including Black, Hispanic, Native and White business owners for comparison from April 28-May 12, 2021.