Small Business Owners Are Taking 3 Creative Actions to Achieve Their Goals in 2024, According to a New Report

Running a small business isn't easy under the best circumstances, and a few current obstacles might make it that much harder.

Forty percent of small business owners believe that 2024 will be a "make or break" year for their business, citing the economy, upcoming election and declining sales as key concerns, per a survey conducted by Slack.

However, it's not all doom and gloom. "At the mid-point of 2024, we asked small businesses to look back on the goals they set for the year, and we found that they're satisfied with their progress and successes over the first half," says Gina Taylor Cotter, EVP & GM, small business products at American Express.

Related: 63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

In fact, American Express shared a new report with Entrepreneur that found that 9 in 10 small business owners are optimistic that their company will achieve its goals this year.

Young, digitally-native entrepreneurs, in particular, are considering creative pathways to growth , according to the report. However, 83% of small business owners across the board said that the past several years have required them to think more creatively than ever before.

When it comes to new actions that small business owners have undertaken in the past 12 months, 57% of respondents said they created a social media profile for their business — and it was the first time doing so for 32% of them.

Related: 9 Tips To Grow Your Small Business With Social Media Marketing

Small business owners are also experimenting with partnerships to secure success: One-third (33%) said they've collaborated with another company or brand in the past year.

Finally, many small business owners are eager to harness the power of AI .

Fifty-nine percent of all millennial and Gen Z respondents said their business uses AI, compared to 34% of Gen X and baby boomers. The most common AI use cases include analyzing customer data (39%), chatbots and virtual assistants (39%) and content creation (33%).