The Real Reason Your Competitor Is Suddenly Hiring A Manager

Why are small business owners suddenly obsessed with hiring when just last year they couldn’t find anyone to hire? The answer reveals a massive shift about to reshape Main Street America.

A few days ago, I read the report on a small business survey conducted in August. something got my attention about the investment priorities for small business owners for the remaining of the year.

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The typical priorities have been: marketing, development of new products or services and investing in new equipment. Prioritizing investments in customer acquisition and in-person customer experience has been consistent over the year. And this year it was no different with a plus or minus, the changes were not dramatic year over year.

However, when you look at how business owners rated the importance to invest in hiring and retraining employees, it went up by 30% since 2024. That is a big shift. But what does it mean?

We need a little bit more information to understand this.

The Money is Finally There

Based on another study done by Ipsos Small Business Economic Confidence Index (Q3 2025), small business owners are finally feeling better about the economy - both nationally and in their own backyards. After months of doom and gloom, we’re seeing real shifts in confidence compared to last quarter.

But here’s what really matters for you: More business owners are expecting revenue growth in the next year. Not hoping. Not wishing. Expecting. And you know what backs that up? The cash flow numbers.

Remember earlier this year when everyone was sweating about the uncertainty? Well, significantly more small business owners are now saying they’re “very comfortable” with their cash flow. That’s not just optimism, that’s money in the bank!

We work with small business owners on a daily basis, and based on our first hand experience and our numbers, this data checks out with what the study is reaffirming.

To sum up this part: Small business owners ARE feeling comfortable with their cash flow and are expecting revenue growth next year. Now hold that thought for a bit.

The other piece of information we got is that hiring has become easier. Last year, 15% of business owners said that “hiring was too hard” versus 8% this year.

Now, considering that business owners are expecting to grow revenues next year and the hiring roadblocks have lessened. They will certainly need hands to cover this growth, right?

But there is more to it!

The percentage of business owners in the age bracket of 55-64 has gone up dramatically in the last 30 years and today these business owners make up for over 50% of the small businesses in the U.S.

Source: Kauffman Entrepreneur Update 2021

Now, here is when it gets interesting when you tie up all these data points together. guess what business owners are excited about? Hiring and retraining!

Most business owners today are going to need new hands to work on their business, which serves two purposes:

1. Cover the expected labor to serve a higher demand ---> creating higher revenues next year

2. Train new managers and operators who can take care of their businesses in the day to day as they prepare to retire either through selling their businesses and exiting, OR to keep the show running but stepping back from the normal operations.

   
   

Both of these things are good! Good for the economy, good for the talent that can step into this management roles, and good for these business owners who have given 10, 20, 30+ years of their lives to their business.

This convergence creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity. For employees: management positions are opening up like never before. For buyers: motivated sellers are preparing their exits. For owners: the window to build transferable value is open, but it won’t stay that way. The businesses that move first on hiring and training will be the ones that successfully transition—and capture the most value when they do.

Are you one of the owners preparing for transition? Or an employee seeing these management positions open up? Hit reply—I’d love to hear what side of this shift you’re on.

Ready to build a business that runs without you? Let's talk about your transition strategy.

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