The Bizee Index Reveals a Changing Landscape for America’s Newest Entrepreneurs

New research explores the motivations, optimism and growth expectations of America’s newest entrepreneurs, finding that 36.4% started their businesses for independence and flexibility, while 74.1% expect sales to increase over the next 12 months.

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bizee, the platform supporting entrepreneurs as they start and grow their businesses, today announced the launch of The Bizee Index, new research exploring the motivations, outlook and experiences of America’s newest entrepreneurs. The findings offer a closer look at the evolving landscape of independent entrepreneurship, from why people start businesses to how they define success and plan for the future.

Based on a July 2026 survey of 2,238 business owners whose businesses were founded in 2022 or later, The Bizee Index examines why entrepreneurs start businesses, how they define success, and what they expect in the year ahead. The findings highlight both the desire for independence and the practical realities of building a business.

Key findings from The Bizee Index include:

• Independence drives entrepreneurship: 36.4% of respondents cited independence and flexibility as a reason for starting their business, compared with 21.0% who cited necessity.
• Entrepreneurs anticipate growth: 74.1% of owners whose businesses were operating or temporarily closed expect sales volume to increase over the next 12 months.
• Growth doesn't necessarily mean hiring: Only 46.2% of owners expect to hire employees, even as many anticipate increased sales.
• Financial runway varies: 43.1% of owners said their businesses could continue operating for fewer than four months if revenue stopped, while 39.8% reported four months or more of runway and 17.1% were unsure.
• Revenue performance shapes profitability outlooks: 82.4% of owners reporting growing revenue said their path to profitability was clear, compared with 52.7% of owners reporting declining revenue.
• Competition doesn't necessarily dampen optimism: 83.6% of owners who expect more competitors also expect their own sales to grow.

The Bizee Index also introduces an Optimism Score, a composite measure combining U.S. Census Bureau data on business-formation growth by industry with survey responses measuring business durability, market tailwinds and operational clarity. The average national score was 60.3 out of 100.

“Some new business owners are building companies. Others are building something smaller on purpose, and that group is bigger than most people realize. Two-thirds of the owners still working alone after three years don’t plan to hire anyone. For them, staying small isn’t a stage on the way to something bigger. It’s what they set out to build. We built the Bizee Index to reflect what’s actually being built, and how it changes year after year,” said Dustin Ray, co-owner at Bizee.

Rather than treating entrepreneurship as a single, uniform experience, The Bizee Index examines how business owners’ motivations, circumstances and expectations vary. The findings offer entrepreneurs, business leaders and organizations that support small businesses a closer look at the realities of building a business and the factors shaping founders’ outlook.

The research was commissioned and funded by Bizee. The survey was conducted by external researchers using a list of Bizee customers, with Bizee contributing to the research questions and the Optimism Score’s component weights. The findings reflect responses from Bizee customers and are not intended to represent a probability sample of all U.S. businesses.

About Bizee

Bizee helps small and solo business owners start their businesses and handle everything that comes after. Since 2004, more than 1.4 million businesses have been formed with Bizee, which continues to support them with registered agent service, annual report filings, and ongoing compliance management. Bizee is independently owned and based in Houston, Texas. Learn more at bizee.com.