As 2024 comes to an end, it’s time to have an honest review of how small business owners fared. Growth comes from learning what worked and what didn’t, and those who skip this step risk repeating the same mistakes next year.
Here at The Metiss Group, we’ve lived it ourselves – the stress, the wins, the “you’ve got to be kidding me” moments. If 2024 felt like a rollercoaster, trust me, you weren’t alone. So let’s unpack it together.
In this article, you’ll learn
The Challenges Small Business Owners Faced in 2024
Small business owners in 2024 faced a mix of familiar struggles and new curveballs that tested their ability to adapt, lead, and think creatively.
Navigating Hybrid vs Work-From-Home
Even though we’re a few years past the peak work-from-home era of the COVID–19 pandemic, there are still plenty of employees who prefer working remotely. And there are plenty of small business owners willing to give workers that option.
But there’s a mistake many have made in 2024: assuming all employees want the same thing. This year especially, I’ve heard many small business owners say, “Well everyone wants to work from home!”
Newsflash: some employees actually crave the connection and collaboration of in-person work. When you assume everyone’s the same, employees become widgets – easily replaced and easily gone. You lose that sense of belonging that keeps a team strong.
Sure, many people would rather work in sweatpants. But don’t assume, and don’t speak about it in absolutes. And if you also crave in-person collaboration in your office, this challenge can become an opportunity.
If you build a culture for people who love working together, you’ll attract the ones who enjoy leveraging the collective brilliance of a team.
Unemployment rate remains low
I’ve spoken before about how historically low rates of unemployment make it more difficult for small businesses to find good employees. Unfortunately, this rate didn’t budge much in 2024, so small businesses have had to get creative with filling full–time positions.
But here’s the thing: maybe full-time roles aren’t the answer. Maybe you’d have better luck finding two people working 20 to 30 hours a week instead of a single 40-hour hire. Not everyone wants full-time work — this flexibility might be your edge in finding talent.
Technology increases shortcutting
Is it just me, or are people booking meetings with you in smaller and smaller time increments? How much can we actually accomplish in a 15-minute Zoom meeting?
In 2024, we’ve become so accustomed to accomplishing things virtually, that it’s shifted how we manage our deliverables.
You can see this in our use of AI as well. Small business owners finally got excited in 2024 about tools like ChatGPT. But too many people are using it as a shortcut without vetting the results. A lot of LinkedIn posts are starting to look the same.
What Didn’t Work in 2024, And What Small Business Owners Can Learn
To understand what didn’t work for small business owners in 2024, you actually need to look back at what happened during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When everything hit in March, we all thought we’d just shut down for a couple of weeks. Many small business owners used this as an excuse to trim the fat: letting go the people they should’ve separated from a long time ago.
As the pandemic dragged on, they cut a little deeper. Only now they weren’t just trimming the fat — they were cutting into the muscle of their company, sometimes even down to the bones.
When things finally started ramping back up, small business owners said to themselves, “I’m not going to make the same mistakes as last time. This time, I’m going to hire smarter.”
But there was a problem. Everyone started hiring at once. The competition was insane. Job openings reached a series high in December 2021 of 11.4 million, and quits reached a series high in November of 4.5 million, triggering the “Great Resignation.”
Companies had to hire anyone who could breathe.
That brings us to 2024, when unemployment remains historically low, and small business owners continue to settle for mediocre talent. A lot of small business owners are looking at their teams in 2024 and wondering, “How did I end up right back where I started, needing to trim the fat?”
Here’s the lesson: Don’t repeat the mistakes of the past. 2025 must be the year you build a team of superstars. No more settling. No more rushing. Invest in a hiring process that sets you up for success – or you’ll risk falling behind.
The Wins That Small Business Owners Scored in 2024
Enough of the bad. Let’s celebrate some wins, shall we?
First, interest rates. In September, the Federal Reserve announced its first rate cut since March 2020, followed by another rate cut in November. This is great news for small businesses trying to plan big moves in 2025.
Then there was the Employee Retention Tax Credit. In October, the IRS announced progress on 400,000 ERTC claims, worth about $10 billion, to small business owners affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of our clients — and The Metiss Group! — began seeing these payments in our bank accounts at the end of 2024.
Two other metrics in 2024 looked good for small businesses:
The Small Business Administration facilitated $56 billion in financing to small businesses and disaster-affected areas. This is a 7% rise from the previous year.
A Treasury analysis showed the U.S. is averaging 430,000 new business applications per month so far in 2024 — a 50% increase from the average in 2019.
All in all, after four years of post-pandemic inflation and interest rate hikes, these 2024 wins might be the light at the end of the tunnel for small business owners.
What Small Business Owners Should Look Toward in 2025
If you’re feeling hopeful for next year, you’re in good company. CEOs are downright optimistic heading into 2025.
In a Fortune/Deloitte survey of more than 140 top CEOs, 84% expressed confidence in their company’s performance for the next year. Even global economic optimism saw a major jump – from 7% last year to nearly half of CEOs surveyed this year.
Small business leaders are feeling excited too. According to the Vistage CEO Confidence Index, nearly a third of small business owners expect the economy to improve in 2025. And when confidence grows, so does investment — in teams, in processes, and in growth.
Here’s the kicker: half of CEOs surveyed plan to expand their workforce in the next year. If you don’t have a solid hiring process, you’re going to be right back in that post-pandemic chaos, scrambling for people who can breathe instead of building a team that can win.
What’s Next? Make 2025 a Year of Wins
2024 had its ups and downs. Some challenges stretched us thin, but they also showed us where we can grow.
If you’re heading into 2025 optimistic, that’s great — but optimism only works if you’re prepared. Don’t repeat the mistakes of the past. Build the kind of team that can get you where you want to go.
At The Metiss Group, we help small business owners like you develop a team of leaders you can trust. Now that you’ve read our honest review of 2024, next you should read Problems with Hiring in 2025 so you can get ahead of the surge in hiring we expect in 2025.