Businessing 2/5/26 | 36.2 Million Small Business Owners — Why Do We Feel So Alone? | SBA Stats + AI Hyper-Personalization

Businessing with Pat Miller · Feb 5, 2026 · 42m · transcript

It is Thursday, February 5th — the last day of the work week if your Fridays off.

We're opening with the stat that'll stop you cold: 99.9% of all businesses in America are small. That's 36.2 million of you. US small business employs 45.9% of all private sector workers. So why do small business owners feel so alone?

Then we're diving into the consumer confidence paradox. Confidence is down 10 points — lowest since 2014 — but retail spending is UP 10% and luxury is UP 15%.

Plus: hyper-personalization trends from Upwork's 2026 report, two Idea Slam questions on nightmare clients and proposal…