Sentiment Dips Among Entrepreneurs in December, But Over Half Plan Launches Within Three Months

By: Michael Alston for Franchise Insights

December 7, 2025 – Business buyer surveys in the last week of December 2025 showed 42.3% of persons exploring ownership agree or strongly agreed that “now is a good time for startup”, down from 64.3% in November, but in line with 43.9% in October.

This mirrors consumer confidence dropping sharply in December’s Conference Board survey, which has fallen each of the last five months.

Further, 52.4% of respondents to the monthly sentiment survey see business conditions “about the same” in three months, with another 28.6% seeing them “better” or “much better” in early 2026.

About 81% of respondents see business conditions either “about the same” or “better or much better” in the next three months.

Of this month’s respondents, 53.3% of entrepreneurs planned their startups within the next three months, just under the recent high of 64.3% in the April 2025 survey. It appears that the seasonal cycle of individuals doing their research for anticipated launches after the holidays is alive, with 67.3% of respondents in December expecting their launches within the next six months. The percentage of entrepreneurs planning their startups within the coming year stood at 82.7%.

In the December 2025 Small Business Startup Sentiment Index™ survey, 55.6% of respondents said they are “more or much more likely to launch their startups than three months ago,” up from 54.1% in October, but off the recent high of 73.2% in November.

Additional Survey highlights:

Future business conditions: Despite the uncertainty of tariff effects and policy changes ahead, 81% of respondents see conditions no worse – staying the same or getting better – in three months. Accordingly, 19% of respondents are worried that conditions will be “worse or much worse” in three months.
Access to funding: 73% of entrepreneurs were concerned about finding adequate funding (the top concern), up from the record low 53.1% seen in September 2024. On the other hand, those who see funding “harder or much harder” to obtain in the next three months were 39.7% of respondents. “Economic climate” was the second most common concern, followed by “tax law changes” and “regulatory changes” which were tied for third most cited factor impacting their startup timing.
Current Employment: Of these survey respondents, 42.9% are currently employed full-time. Another 14.3% of respondents were current business owners seeking an additional or replacement business. Freelancers and consultants were 28.6%, while part-timers were also at 14.3%, and less than 1% were active military.
Age Cohorts: Gen-X remains the largest share, at 41% of respondents, down from the record 63.9% seen in June 2024. Boomers had a strong showing again this month at 26.2%, but below the 29.5% who were Gen-Y (Millennials), the largest cohort in the adult population, but years away from the peak age for business ownership. Gen-Z and the “Silent Generation” were each less than 2% of respondents.

Gen-X is still the largest cohort of interested franchise buyers, but Millennials are growing as a cohort as Baby Boomers pass the prime age for business ownership.

The FranchiseInsights.com Small Business Startup Sentiment Index™ (SSI) is based on a monthly survey of individuals who have recently inquired about businesses or franchises for sale on the Franchise Ventures lead generation platform. This survey was conducted December 22-31, 2025.

Franchise Ventures is the leading franchise lead-generation platform for potential franchisees to thousands of growing franchise systems in the United States and Canada. Its franchise lead generation brands include Franchise.com, Franchise Solutions, Franchise Gator, Franchise Opportunities, Franchise For Sale, SmallBusinessStartup.com and BusinessBroker.net, and together they provide the largest aggregation of prospective franchise buyers in the U.S.

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Published on Tuesday, January 6th, 2026.