Xero CEO: Why America’s entrepreneurship boom is only half the story

One of the most consistent things I hear from founders is some version of: “The business is doing well, so why don’t I feel like I’m winning?”

That question is critical. Because on every headline measure, they are winning. In 2025, the U.S. recorded approximately 5.7 million business applications, a new annual record. This rise was driven by AI, with 60% of new business owners saying they used it to help launch their business that year, double the rate from 12 months earlier.

Small businesses generate trillions in economic activity. They create jobs. They power entire communities. And yet the owner, the person who took the real risk, is asking: Was it really worth it?

We’ve seen this tension before, and speaking from experience, I have felt it. I think about my older sister Nicky, an optometrist who owned a practice in a shopping mall. She worked day and night to make her business succeed, but that stress never fully translated into her bank account. She had the company P&L, but not a framework for understanding whether she was thriving financially or personally.

That gap is what’s hiding in plain sight in the American small business economy right now.

We already measure revenue, job creation, and GDP contribution. These make up the scorecard. And by that scorecard, entrepreneurship looks healthy. But we don’t measure whether the owner is actually earning a living wage.

Data from Xero’s payroll partner Gusto found that in 2025, the median small business owner paid themselves $4,800 per month, about $57,600 per year, in cash wages.

The time investment is even starker. Most small business owners work at least 50 hours a week. Sixty percent work six or more days every week. And our research at Xero shows that owners spend nearly 22 hours a month on finance alone—just tracking and managing money. Success at the business level doesn’t tell you whether success is sustainable for the person living it.

There’s a name for this gap. I call it the Ownership Gap. The hidden side of the small business economy that measures what owners actually get back from everything they put in.

Income matters, obviously. But so do things we don’t track, such as financial resilience, control over your time, access to capital when you need it, or peace of mind when you’ve had a tough month. The confidence that building this business is actually creating a better future for you as the owner, not just for the company’s P&L.

Right now, we ask if the business is working. We rarely ask if business ownership is working for the owner.

This extends to personal wellbeing too. There is a difference between “my business grew” and “my life improved.” A difference between a dream realized and a dream worth realizing. Business success should improve the owner’s life, not quietly consume it.