Main Street's medicine: US business leaders back Trump's remedy for 'very sick' economy
American employers and job board leaders have awarded President Donald Trump a stellar report card almost 100 days after he took office, believing that the economy "can win now" — though it hasn’t "started to win yet."
"I would give President Trump, right now, a pretty solid B+," TaChelle Lawson – FIG Strategy & Consulting founder, author and Freedom Economy Index (FEI) respondent – told Fox News Digital.
"He came in with a very clear plan, and that was focusing on economics. He's definitely putting business first, trimming the fat. That's something that small business owners, business operators understand and respect. I think that it's clear that his focus is on American business," she added. "I do, however, think that the messaging could use a little bit of work."
Lawson represents one of the more than 50,000 small business owners who participated in the latest quarterly RedBalloon and PublicSquare survey, which found that more than two-thirds of respondents anticipate either "slow" or "robust" economic growth throughout the year – a "180-degree" turn from negative sentiment in previous findings.
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"What we're seeing right now is we have a very sick economy, and it needs some very strong medicine. And if it gets that medicine, we all feel like we have a very strong economy that will win and will actually be a huge blessing to the entire world," RedBalloon CEO Andrew Crapuchettes also told Fox News Digital.
"Because when the U.S. economy is strong, when small businesses in the U.S. economy are strong, we feel like we can have a disproportionate and positive impact on the entire planet," he continued. "There's a lot of good work that's being done, but that work still needs to be done for the economy to actually get better."
"These small businesses are now feeling like we're coming up on the 100-day mark of Trump's presidency. They love the fact that one of the things that President Trump and this administration more broadly is tackling is the overregulation, the red tape seeded in bureaucracy that seeks to stifle business growth," PublicSquare CEO Michael Seifert chimed in to say.
"And so, when President Trump and Elon and DOGE are talking about removing regulation, making government efficient again for the betterment of the business community so that they can serve the American population more broadly," Seifert expanded, "that leads to this surge in optimism that we're seeing."
Crapuchettes, Seifert and FEI director Tim Clark gave Trump’s performance an "A" grade thus far in his second term, nodding at business owners like Lawson who serve as that example.
Key findings from the FEI released last month also showed that 50% of survey takers are "extremely confident" in Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), that one-third plan to grow their business through hiring, and that Trump’s tariffs are the least of their concerns over the next six months.
"My position is cautiously bullish. Employment is up. American businesses are up. The market's steady. Consumer confidence is still a little shaky, but improving," Lawson said.
"I would say that, in terms of American innovation, I have the utmost confidence," she noted. "In terms of how it's unfolding in real time, how it's affecting Americans when we go to the grocery stores, that part, I'm still very cautious. I think it's gonna take a little bit more time for us to see this completely shake out. I, as a small business owner, I understand the plan, but until you start to see those rewards personally and individually, I think it is hard to fully trust it."
"They have had a sea change when it comes to the economy," Clark said, referring to the first FEI since the conclusion of the Biden administration. "They're ready to hire, they're ready to invest, just a complete flip, because they have a White House now that views them as the critical stakeholder."
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Before becoming her own boss, Lawson worked for legacy brands like Louis Vuitton, Mercedes-Benz, NASCAR, Lancôme, Red Bull, Coca-Cola, M&M Mars and more. Now, under Trump's leadership, she expects her business to benefit from clarity, deregulation and more opportunity.
"We're also seeing major shifts in our demographics. And that is something that creates tons of opportunities for small business owners, for existing businesses, to develop new products, new services, to adapt to how quickly our world is changing," Lawson noted.
"The previous administration, it was like policy whiplash. That's not necessarily the case right now," she pointed out. "And I think that business owners and business operators find that very refreshing because you can plan around the Trump administration. There's not going to be any surprises in terms of what the goal is. That's been made very, very clear."
Although 70% of FEI respondents put inflation as their No. 1 economic concern, Lawson’s stems from what she calls the "corporate scam" of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
"Most of what I am dealing with, inflation doesn't necessarily affect in the same way that it does my counterparts who order product and manufacturing and so on and so forth. But on the flip side of that, when inflation is too high, service providers like me become a luxury item. We're not necessary. When in reality, the subject matter that I cover is something that a majority of business owners and operators or business leaders in general are truly concerned about, and that's DEI," Lawson explained.
DEI has been a central target since a Day One executive order from Trump and DOGE budget cuts.
"What it feels like as CEOs… It feels very good to know that someone is actually focused on the issues that we've been trying to raise the five-alarm fire on for years. We need executive leadership that has actually balanced a budget in the private sector before to now be influencing government," Seifert reacted.
When looking to the future of Main Street America, the hope for these business leaders is less about fiscal gain and more steeped in macroeconomic impact and a free-market emphasis.
"If you as a team believe you can win, if you see a path where you can win, often you do win, because it looks a lot like optimism. And when optimism is infecting the entire economy, which it is right now, at least on the small businesses that we represent... It is going to have a positive change," Crapuchettes said. "People are going to work the extra hours, take the extra risk, do the extra work necessary to succeed."
"Let's get the cuts done, let's get the tariffs done, let's get all this stuff done, and then let's get stability so I know how to plan and move forward," Clark urged. "And that's what [business owners] want."
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"In my opinion, we've never needed strong leadership more in this country. And just like our fathers, our mothers, whoever your authority figure was in your life, strong leadership does have to come in a little heavy-handed sometimes," Lawson reflected.
"For me, what success looks like is how I'm able to contribute, how I'm able to positively impact other business leaders, operators, so that we all have our fair shot," she added. "It's not really up to one individual to solve every single problem. We all have unique skills, talents, and abilities. I measure success by my ability to deliver my unique skill in a way that someone else can benefit from, learn from, utilize, whatever the case may be."