After a decade of economic growth, 2020 has been one of the most challenging times small businesses in the U.S. have faced in modern times. A global pandemic. Nearly 200,000 U.S. deaths, and rising. Crashing segments of the economy. Cultural reckoning relating to racial injustice. Tornados. Hurricanes. Forest fires. Job losses. Unemployment. And the closure of tens of thousands of businesses. Yesterday, QuickBooks released the findings of a survey of 1,600 current and prospective small business owners on what they expect their futures to be. One finding is especially promising — for all generations of small businesses: The future of small businesses includes hope. Download the Report (PDF) The Future, as…

September 15, 2020 7 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. “It’s not going away, and we have to face that reality.” That’s what the CEO and founder of a high-tech manufacturing startup with 180 employees told his leadership team in early July to convince them they needed a strategic pivot to address COVID-19. Previously, the startup’s executives took things one step at a time, putting out the various COVID-related fires that flared up: supply chain disruptions, canceled orders, employees having difficulties with work-from-home setups or needing flex-time to manage kids or elderly relatives. Seeing more of the broad picture, the CEO realized the company was going in…