Flagler County’s Small Businesses Have Big Economic Impact

In a 1925 speech to the American Society of Newspaper Editors, President Calvin Coolidge said “the chief business of the American people is business. They are profoundly concerned with producing, buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world.”

While that statement has been misquoted ever since, becoming the more familiar line, “The business of America is Business,” the sentiment still applies, especially when it comes to small business. As the nation celebrates Small Business Week, the role of American entrepreneurs and small-business owners has never been more important.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, 99.9% of American businesses are small business, defined as an independently owned and operated company with fewer than 500 employees. They are also a job creation engine, accounting for 63% of net new jobs since 1995, and generate a third of U.S. export value. Small businesses employ nearly 62 million Americans, nearly half of all private sector job

According to personal finance company WalletHub’s latest Small Business Survey, more than 60% of business owners responding are optimistic about opportunities for growth.

In Flagler County, John Phillips, president of the Palm Coast-Flagler Regional Chamber of Commerce, said conditions are generally good for small-business owners.

“From everything I can gather, the state of the small businesses here in Flagler is still pretty good,” he said, “I am not hearing of anything changing or any significant trends as of yet in 2025.”

Phillips said as is true elsewhere, small businesses play a big role in the local economy.

“Small businesses are incredibly important to Flagler County, we have a tremendous abundance of small businesses here in our community,” he said. “I don’t have a firm grasp on how many small businesses that we have here, but I think we would be above average compared to other communities in the surrounding areas.”

Phillips said he has not heard anything specific about the impact of tariffs and trade policy on the local business scene.

“With regard to tariffs and their impact on small businesses, I have not had any of our small businesses reach out to the Chamber or share stories of new challenges they are facing,” he said. “I’m not saying this isn’t happening to our small businesses, but none of them have shared information or concerns specifically due to tariffs.”

Nancy Keefer, president and CEO at the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce, said small businesses are vitally important to Volusia County’s economy.

“Small business continues to be the backbone of most economies,” she said. “Collectively, they represent the largest number of workers in any given community. Because they typically live and work in their area, they are often some of the biggest supporters of local causes.”

Keefer said while the small-business community is growing, business owners face challenges due the nature of the local economy.

 “We continue to see strong growth in new businesses and more diversification of businesses selecting our region as a place for their business investment,” she said. “However, being reliant on tourism as a major contributor to our economy, small businesses face the challenge of operating through peaks and valleys. This places stress on maintaining a workforce and meeting the demands of visitors and residents alike.”

Keefer said financing for small businesses can be difficult, as noted in the WalletHub survey.

“I believe that the Daytona Beach region is similar to most cities and states, where the cost of inflation and the uncertainty of public/governmental decisions impact their businesses,” she said. “Small businesses operate on such narrow margins, that any unplanned increases in the cost of business causes them to have to make decisions about how to finance their operations to get them through tough times. Small business owners often have a more difficult time passing on increased costs to their customers as they rely on repeat customers and strong word of mouth promotion of their product or service.”

Keefer said Small Business Week is a good time for people to remember how important small businesses are to the community.

“Just a reminder of how important it is to support local business,” she said. “While the convenience of online shopping is attractive, our local businesses with physical locations are the fabric of our community.  They contribute to our tax base, hire local workers, and often contribute to local charities and organizations. A dollar spent locally for goods and services circulates many times throughout the community helping contribute to a growing and successful economy.”

Scott Maynard, senior vice president of economic development and public policy at the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce, said small businesses are an integral part of the local economy.

“For St. Johns County small business is critical to our local economy,” he said.  “We do not have a large industrial presence in our county and rely on small business to support our commercial tax base.  From the Chamber’s perspective, over 80% of our membership is made up of small businesses.”

Maynard said small businesses are facing challenges locally and nationally and current economic conditions could make things worse, at least in the short term.

“The state of small business is being challenged by issues at the state and federal levels,” he said.  “Tariffs will influence our small business owners if those remain in place for an extended period.  With margins already tight for many of these businesses, that could feel a significant impact.”

Maynard said one area that is of particular concern is travel and tourism.

“There are also pressures on the tourism industry from the state and local level,” he said.  “The recent decision to cut the number of days for Nights of Lights will have an impact on the businesses in the historic district that depend on that income.  There is also legislation at the state level proposing a reduction in the tourism development revenue that currently is spent on advertising.  This could also have a detrimental effect on St. Augustine and St. Johns County.”