KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on businesses across the United States, and AAPI business owners relayed some of the challenges they experienced. Reflecting a markedly optimistic outlook, nearly 75 percent of AAPI small business owner respondents in Northern California believed that their business would survive to the end of the year, even though more than 65 percent of these optimistic respondents reported bad, very bad, or catastrophic impact of COVID-19 on their business.

• The most troubling answers from surveyed AAPI small business owners in Northern California involved perceived experiences of racism during the past year. Slightly more than half of respondents reported instances of disrespect. More than 40 percent of respondents reported being blamed for the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Alongside moderate business confidence, the majority of AAPI business owners also reported trust in the federal government (74 percent) and banks and other financial institutions (79 percent).

BACKGROUND

After more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, 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 on a regional level, and whether this emerging recovery is evenly distributed within the AAPI and other small business communities

METHODOLOGY

Nearly 200 survey respondents provided valuable insights into the experiences of AAPI small business owners in Northern California over the past year, which highlight both challenges and opportunities. More than half of AAPI business owner respondents identified as Chinese, 14 percent as Taiwanese, 13 percent as Vietnamese, 6 percent as Korean, and 5 percent as Filipino.