‘They don’t have a plan B’: Intentionalist survey shows Seattle’s small businesses struggling more than during COVID
Mar 8, 2026, 5:00 AM
A recent survey from the Intentionalist gauged how small businesses in Seattle and the surrounding area are doing financially. The survey of 136 small businesses found that many are under more financial stress than they were during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Intentionalist founder, Laura Clise, joined “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio to provide more insight into the findings that the survey uncovered, and what surprised her the most.
“Honestly, the fact that only two out of three businesses felt like things are worse, from a financial pressure perspective, than during the pandemic. I expected it to be worse,” Clise said. “I think that what’s important for us to remember is that small businesses don’t have a plan B. These are families and neighbors. The rest of us have kind of gone back to normal since the disruption of the pandemic. The reality is that the vast majority of the small businesses that we love never recovered.”
Clise explained that of the many businesses represented in the survey, a vast majority are small, family-run operations with limited resources.
“For the Intentionalist survey, 80% of the respondents are at small businesses with gross revenue less than $1 million. We’re not talking about profits. [They have] fewer than 10 employees, including the business owner,” Clise said. We’re really talking about the mom and pop restaurants, cafes, and salons that are in our communities. We’re talking about the places where we all eat, drink, and shop.
“I think it’s important as we dive into the numbers and the data and the analysis to remember who, not just what we’re talking about,” Clise continued. “We believe that small businesses are essential community infrastructure. These are the places and spaces where community happens, and so for them to be in a state of invisible crisis is something that should alarm all of us.”
Watch the full discussion in the video above.
Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.
