97% of Small Business Owners Feel Unprepared: Fix One Gap First

In a TD Bank survey released Oct. 5, 2026, 97% of US small business owners said they feel unprepared in at least one key area of their business for the rest of the year. Technology and operations topped that list at 43%, followed by AI adoption at 40%. The survey, run by Wakefield Research, also found that 73% delayed at least one business investment this year because of economic uncertainty, even though 85% expect stronger revenue through year-end.

That combination of confidence about sales and worry about systems is the useful part. With the holiday rush weeks away, most owners don't need a big technology project. They need to close one or two gaps before the busiest weeks of the year. Here's what the numbers say and a practical way to act on them.

What did the TD survey find?

From TD Bank's release:

• 85% expect revenue to be stronger through the rest of 2026, and 85% expect customer spending at their business to rise compared with the same period last year.
• 78% are more optimistic about the US economy than six months ago.
• 97% feel unprepared in at least one area: technology and operations (43%), AI adoption (40%), inventory management (37%), and capital and cash-flow planning (37%).
• 62% expect to seek financing before year-end. Among them, the top planned uses are new equipment or technology (23%) and AI adoption (20%).
• 99% report using AI in some way, 77% say their use has grown in the past six months, and owners say they use it to save time (57%), improve cash-flow decisions (55%) and increase sales (52%).
• 59% are more worried about fraud than six months ago, led by cyber-enabled fraud (39%) and payment or card fraud (38%).

The sample is small: 200 owners of businesses with 100 or fewer employees and at least $100,000 in annual revenue, surveyed Aug. 17–28. Treat it as a snapshot of sentiment, not a census.

Do other surveys agree?

Mostly. The Justworks and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index for the third quarter, published Sept. 30, rose to 70.5 from 66.5 the quarter before, still below the 72.0 reading from a year earlier. In that poll, 72% said they were comfortable with their cash flow. But only 36% planned to add staff in the next year and 38% planned to increase investment, down from 44% and 47% a year earlier.

Put the two together and you get a familiar picture: owners expect a decent holiday season but aren't hiring or spending much to meet it. Getting more from the people and tools they already have is the obvious way to bridge that gap.

Why are owners worried about tech if they already use AI?

Because using a chatbot isn't the same as having systems. TD found nearly everyone uses AI somewhere. But "technology and operations" still tops the list of weak spots, which suggests the tools are scattered: a chatbot in one tab, a calendar in another, customer emails in a personal inbox and follow-ups on sticky notes.

TD also reported that 73% of AI users said AI had increased their headcount, a figure from a bank survey that is worth reading with some caution. Even so, it points away from the idea that small businesses are using AI mainly to cut staff.

What should you do before the holiday rush?

1. Pick your one weakest area. Choose the single gap from TD's list that would hurt most in December, whether that's tech and operations, inventory or cash flow, and fix that first. Don't try to modernize everything in October.
2. Write down where customers reach you. Email, phone, text, social messages, web forms. Every channel no one checks daily is a lost sale in December.
3. Put follow-ups on a schedule. Quotes, abandoned inquiries and post-sale check-ins should land on a calendar or in a pipeline, not in someone's memory.
4. Use AI for drafts, not decisions. Let it draft replies, summaries and first-pass forecasts, and keep a person approving anything that goes to a customer or moves money.
5. Tighten payment checks. With 59% more worried about fraud, confirm any change to a supplier's bank details by phone using a number you already have, and turn on alerts for card-not-present orders.
6. Decide on financing early. If you're one of the 62% planning to borrow, apply before the rush, when you have time to compare offers.

We've looked at what an all-in-one AI business tool covers, and who it doesn't suit, in our Clozure AI Business OS review.

Disclosure: some links are affiliate links; ShopperCove may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

If your gap is sales follow-up, meaning quotes, leads and meetings spread across inboxes and calendars, a single workspace can pull them together. Clozure's offer page describes an AI business OS with an AI email assistant, a calendar with two-way Outlook and Google sync, CRM and pipeline tools, AI "department heads" for sales, marketing and lead generation, and meeting, RSVP and reminder automation. It is built for revenue teams, so it suits B2B and service sellers more than a shop that mainly takes walk-in or cart orders. ShopperCove did not test it for this article. Clozure link: Open linkShow address (affiliate link)

Tools that help

• Clozure, AI business OS for revenue teams. Per its offer page, it costs $99 a month: the first charge covers a 14-day trial, then it rebills monthly until you cancel. It includes AI email, two-way calendar sync, CRM and pipeline, analytics and reminder automation, with refunds under ClickBank's standard policy. Clozure link: Open linkShow address

How this was made: facts were gathered on 8 Oct 2026 (IST) from TD Bank's release and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce index pages listed below, then written up with AI help and checked line by line against those sources. Survey figures are as reported by their publishers; ShopperCove did not see the underlying data.

Sources

• Open stories.td.comShow address
• Open njbmagazine.comShow address
• Open uschamber.comShow address
• Open uschamber.comShow address
• Open clozure.netShow address

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