Small Business Owners React to the State of Small Biz Report: Burnout, Better Metrics, and What Actually Works

If you’ve ever felt like you’re working harder than ever on your marketing but the results aren’t matching the effort, you’re not imagining it.

In this live panel discussion, I sat down with five incredibly smart small business owners from the Enji community (Dolly, Katherine, Kelsie, Amanda, and Cynthia) to talk through the most compelling takeaways from the State of Small Biz Report. (245 small business owners across the country contributed to the data, and it is good.)

But the goal wasn’t to just rattle off stats. It was to get honest reactions from people who are actually living what the numbers represent—and to talk about the real shifts they’re making with their marketing going into 2026.

Meet the small business panel

Amanda Helmick of Amanda Matilda Photography. A Western Colorado elopement photographer focused on storytelling and helping couples plan adventurous, intentional elopements.
Katherine Oyer of Francis Henri. Founder of a children’s clothing boutique with two brick-and-mortar shops in New Jersey, curating hard-to-find brands from around the world.
Cinthia Onines of Boda Bliss. A marketing systems and processes expert helping wedding pros and small businesses create repeatable, streamlined marketing workflows.
Dolly Delong of Dolly Delong Photography and Systems and Workflow Magic. A Nashville-based family and branding photographer and educator teaching photographers systems and workflows for sustainable marketing.
Kelsie Delisle of Sugar Flowers by Kelsie Cakes. A Tampa-based sugar flower artist supplying local bakeries and shipping handmade sugar flowers nationwide (and beyond when shipping makes sense).

Haven’t downloaded the State of SmallBiz report? You can get that here.

Did the State of Small Biz Report Feel Close to Home?

The consensus was immediate. Yes.

Kelsie put words to what a lot of people feel when they read a report like this: “It was really validating just to know that I’m not struggling alone. And also a little bit hopeful that there are some clues in there on howI can make things better for this year.”

That word validating kept showing up. The data doesn’t just tell you what’s happening. It tells you that what you’re feeling isn’t personal failure. Because there is definitely a shared reality amongst business owners.

Dolly had a more nuanced reaction because she runs two different business models: a B2C photography business and a B2B education business. Her photography side has grown steadily, while the online education side has felt shakier—proof that “the market” can look wildly different depending on what you sell and who you sell it to.

Effort Is Up, Results Aren’t. So Where’s the Disconnect with Marketing for Small Businesses?

This was one of the most emotional (and honest) sections of the conversation.

Cynthia, who works with wedding pros and service providers, named a big issue quickly: A lot of business owners are working hard but focusing on the wrong things.

Specifically, she sees many owners default to Instagram as “the answer,”without actually knowing whether it’s the channel that’s driving meaningful results.

“Some people don’t even know what their numbers are, so they don’t know what their efforts are really going into.”

Dolly added a second layer that hits hard: Even “helpful” marketing tools can increase overwhelm. Because content is easier than ever to create (especially with AI), the number of options has exploded—meaning many business owners freeze in the face of too many choices.

“If we have too many choices, even though they’re good, it’s overwhelming for people.”

Translation: the problem isn’t always lack of wanting to do the thing.Sometimes it’s going at things blindly.

The Stat That Matters: Data-Driven Owners Are 2.8x More Likely to Say Their Marketing Works

One of the strongest correlations in the State of Small Biz report is this: When small business owners use metrics to guide decisions, they’re 2.8x more likely to say their marketing is working.

So I asked Amanda and Kelsie: What metric actually helps you make decisions?

Amanda: Track When People Book (So YouCan Market to the Moment)

Amanda, a Colorado elopement photographer, has been tracking when people book year-over-year so she can map content to her buyers’ actual timeline.

She also shared something important: even if people book quickly (often within a week), they’ve usually been quietly watching and reading long before they inquire.

That’s why her blog is a key piece of her funnel.

Kelsie: Stop Tracking High-LevelTraffic and Go Deeper

Kelsey shared a classic growth moment: she used to focus on total visitors and website traffic… until she realized it was too high-level to be useful.

Now she’s focusing on:

Which blog posts are driving traffic
What's getting shared on Pinterest
And how to turn that attention into an actual sale

“I was getting burned out making new content. So I’m like…how do I take what I already have and do something with that?”

That line alone could be a small business strategy for 2026.

The Number Katherine Ignored Too Long: Email Revenue

When I asked what stats folks feel like they ignored for too long, Katherine (who runs a children’s clothing boutique with two brick-and-mortar locations) didn’t hesitate: Email marketing.

She had built an email list for years but barely emailed it—until someone on her team took ownership of it and started sending weekly emails consistently.

What happened?

email opens went down slightly (normal)
repeat purchases went up
in-store pickup increased
and customers showed up in-store more often even if they hadn't purchased online

Her takeaway was gold. People don’t always need to open the email. Sometimes they just need to see your name in their inbox and remember you exist.

Warm leads are real. And they convert.

The Consistency Problem: What’s Actually Getting in the Way?

According to the State of Small Biz report, 44% of small business owners said consistency is what they “should” be doing—but aren’t.

So I asked Cynthia what gets in the way of consistency. And her answer was painfully relatable: Client work.

New leads come in, clients need attention, and marketing gets pushed aside—even though marketing is the reason those leads exist in the first place.

She also shared what she sees with her clients. Many don’t have a recurring marketing routine. Marketing becomes something you “try to squeeze in,” instead of something you plan for.

Her fix is simple and effective. Have a dedicated marketing day and 3 priorities for the week. Not everything. Just the few things that matter most.

How Much Time Are Small Business Owners Actually Spending on Marketing?

The report shows 57% of business owners spend 1–5 hours/week on marketing, and most of that time goes toward creating content and social media.

Here’s how this panel broke down:

Amanda ~2 hours/week (batched monthly)
Katherine ~30 minutes/week (honesty level: 10/10)
Kelsie ~6 hours/week (including networking)
Dolly ~5–6 hours/week (video-heavy weeks)
Cinthia ~12 hours/week (and yes…she tracks her time)

And when we asked where the time goes, it was exactly what you’d expect:

content creation
blogging
repurposing content
social media stories and DMs
video creation
community outreach
product photography and graphics

In other words: small business owners are all feeding the content machine.

What Small Business Owners are Changing About Marketing in 2026 After Reading the State of Small Biz Report

This is where it got exciting.

Katherine: A Real Ad Budget (Not “A Little Trickle”)

Katherine was struck by the stat that owners who spend $1,000+ per month on marketing are much more likely to rate their marketing as effective. So instead of “sprinkling” small ad spend, she’s going to test a stronger investment in Q1 when her retail season heats up.

And honestly? For retail, retargeting works for a reason. “It’s going to wear me down and I’m going to end up buying it.”

She’s not wrong.

Amanda: Posting Less on Instagram

Amanda made a change that many founders need permission to make: She’s reducing how often she is posting on Instagram to avoid burnout and show up more intentionally. Instead of posting more to feel productive, she’s choosing fewer, more meaningful touch points.

Kelsey: More Money Toward Marketing Help

Kelsey’s biggest shift was mindset. She realized that “doing it yourself for free” isn’t always the best choice—especially when it makes you the bottleneck.

She’s experimenting with Pinterest ads and planning to move budget away from “shiny tools and courses” and toward actual marketing support.

The Tough Love Question: What Would You Say to the Owner Who Reads This and Still Does Nothing?

This is always my favorite part. Because someone always needs to hear it.Here are the best answers from the panel:

Amanda: “You’re just going to keep spinning your wheels… and you don’t have to.”

Cynthia: “If you’re not treating your marketing like a client, you’re wasting your time.”

Dolly: “You have to prioritize it…and get comfortable promoting yourself.”

Kelsie: “If you took the time to read the report, you already know something’s wrong. Try something new.”

Katherine: “If it’s not on the calendar, it’s not going to happen.”

That last one is painfully true—especially if you run a business where customers can walk in at any moment and the day disappears before you even notice.

The Thread That Tied It All Together

If this panel had one theme, it was this: Marketing isn’t hard as a small business owner because you’re lazy. It’s hard because you’re overwhelmed, under-supported, and often working without a plan.

And the path forward isn’t “do more.” It’s:

simplify what you do with a clear marketing plan
measure what matters by tracking your numbers
protect time for marketing like it is a client
and invest (time or money) in getting help when you feel like a bottleneck

Want all the Data Behind this Conversation?

You can download the State of Small Biz Report to explore the stats we referenced—plus a lot more. And if you watched this panel and thought, “Okay… I’m not crazy. Now what?” Start with one thing: Pick one metric to track this month and one marketing habit to protect on your calendar. That alone puts you ahead of most small business owners.

‍