State of Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders in Texas

Spring 2022 Regional Survey of AAPI Small Business Owners

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Most AAPI small business are optimistic about the future of their business surviving through the end of the year, even though 46% 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 Texas involved perceived experiences of racism during the past year. Nearly half of respondents reported instances of disrespect and nearly 40 percent reported being blamed for the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Alongside strong business confidence, large majorities of AAPI business owners in Texas reported trust in the federal government (81 percent) and banks and other financial institutions (92 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

National ACE and Rose Li & Associates Inc. fielded a regional survey of AAPI small business owners in Spring 2022. Nearly 150 survey respondents provided valuable insights into the experiences of AAPI small business owners in Texas over the past year, which highlight both challenges and opportunities. Nearly 65 percent of AAPI business owner respondents identified as Chinese, 15 percent as Taiwanese, 9 percent as Vietnamese, and 5 percent each as Indian and Filipino. 57 percent of AAPI small business owners in Texas employed five or fewer employees, including self only, while the remainder employed six or more employees. Overall, one-third of AAPI business owners in Texas were in the business services industry, 19 percent were in the food or restaurant business, 6 percent were in retail; 42 percent of respondents classified their business in various fields outside of these sectors.