--- url: 'https://lonelyentrepreneur.com/founder-the-years-you-have-owned-it/' title: Owners in Their First Three Years Rank Advertising 21st of 75 Problems. Owners of 21 Years or More Rank It 52nd author: name: Samantha Lankford url: 'https://lonelyentrepreneur.com/author/sam/' date: '2026-10-19T15:30:00-04:00' modified: '2026-10-19T15:30:00-04:00' type: post summary: 'NFIB''s 2024 survey: new owners rank advertising and getting a loan about 20 to 31 places higher. Owners of 21+ years rank estate tax and rules higher.' categories: - Blog Post image: 'https://lonelyentrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/founder-the-years-you-have-owned-it-hero.webp' published: true --- # Owners in Their First Three Years Rank Advertising 21st of 75 Problems. Owners of 21 Years or More Rank It 52nd ![The Lonely Entrepreneur](https://lonelyentrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/TLE_Logo_mobile-490W-26-26.png)Founder Data Report ![Owners in Their First Three Years Rank Advertising 21st of 75 Problems. Owners of 21 Years or More Rank It 52nd](https://lonelyentrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/founder-the-years-you-have-owned-it-hero.webp) Founder Data Report # Owners in Their First Three Years Rank Advertising 21st of 75 Problems. Owners of 21 Years or More Rank It 52nd By Michael Dermer • Updated October 19, 2026 Join us Fridays at 12 PM ET to ask TLE CEO Michael Dermer your questions live. [Join the CEO Call →](https://shorturl.at/364XX) NFIB’s 2024 problems survey, split by how long the owner has had the business: the same top of the list, and a very different middle. Quick Answer In NFIB’s 2024 Small Business Problems & Priorities survey, owners who had owned their business **three years or fewer** ranked the ability to advertise cost-effectively **21st** of 75 problems. Owners of **21 years or more** ranked it **52nd**. Getting a loan and errors in a credit record sit about 20 to 26 places higher for the newer owners. The longer-tenured owners rank the estate tax 39th against 70th. Both groups put the cost of health insurance first. The 30-second version - Owners of three years or fewer and owners of 21 years or more share the top two problems: health insurance costs, then uncertainty over economic conditions. - Newer owners rank getting found and getting financed higher: advertising 21st against 52nd, long-term loans 49th against 69th. - Long-tenured owners rank taxes, rules and exposure higher: estate tax 39th against 70th, environmental rules 35th against 63rd, cyber crime 34th against 61st. - Neither list is heavier overall: newer owners rate 36 of 75 problems as more severe, long-tenured owners 39. - This is years of owning the business, not the age of the business, and it is one survey of NFIB members, not the same owners followed over time. ## The top of the list does not move NFIB asks its members to rate 75 possible problems from critical to not a problem, roughly every four years, and publishes the results split several ways. One split is how long the respondent has owned the business. The newest group, three years or fewer, is small: 106 owners. The longest, 21 years or more, is 1,548. Both put the **cost of health insurance** first and **uncertainty over economic conditions** second. The share calling health insurance critical reads 34.8% for the newer owners and 44.6% for the longer-tenured ones, but with only 106 owners in the first group that gap does not pass the test used here. ## Getting found, getting financed Lower down, the lists come apart. Owners of three years or fewer rank the ability to **advertise cost-effectively** 21st; owners of 21 years or more rank it 52nd. Using social media to promote the business is 41st against 60th, and competition from internet businesses 43rd against 62nd. The money problems follow the same line: getting a **long-term loan** is 49th against 69th, a short-term loan or credit line 48th against 68th, and errors in a credit rating or record 46th against 72nd. The Data Problems newer owners rank higher: places higher on the list for owners of 3 years or fewer Advertising cost-effectively: 21stagainst 52nd31 placesErrors in credit rating or record:46th against 72nd26 placesGetting a long-term loan (5 years+):49th against 69th20 placesGetting a short-term loan or creditline: 48th against 68th20 placesCompetition from internet businesses:43rd against 62nd19 placesUsing social media to promote thebusiness: 41st against 60th19 places Rank of 75 for owners of 3 years or fewer against owners of 21 years or more. Every gap shown passes a conservative 95% test on the mean rating; NFIB publishes no margins of error. Axis runs 0 to 32 places. NFIB Research Center, 2024 Small Business Problems & Priorities (11th edition), tables 1 and 11, survey of NFIB members, February–April 2024; nfib.com, retrieved October 13, 2026. 3 years or fewer of ownership n=106; 21 years or more n=1,548. > Owners in their first three years rank customers and credit higher. Owners of 21 years or more rank taxes, rules and exposure higher. ## Taxes, rules and exposure For the owners of 21 years or more, a different set ranks higher. The **estate tax** ranks 39th against 70th for the newest owners, and 19.5% of them call it critical. **Environmental regulations** rank 35th against 63rd, **cyber crime** 34th against 61st, frequent changes in federal tax rules 14th against 34th, and the cost and availability of liability insurance 17th against 35th. On the share calling a problem critical, six of these gaps are wide enough to stand on their own: advertising, long-term loans and social media for the newer owners; estate tax, environmental rules and cyber crime for the longer-tenured ones. The Data Problems long-tenured owners rank higher: places higher on the list for owners of 21 years or more Estate tax: 39th against 70th31 placesEnvironmental regulations: 35thagainst 63rd28 placesCyber crime: 34th against 61st27 placesFrequent changes in federal taxrules: 14th against 34th20 placesCost and availability of liabilityinsurance: 17th against 35th18 placesMandatory family or sick leave: 58thagainst 74th16 places Rank of 75 for owners of 21 years or more against owners of 3 years or fewer. Every gap shown passes a conservative 95% test on the mean rating. Axis runs 0 to 32 places. NFIB Research Center, 2024 Small Business Problems & Priorities (11th edition), tables 1 and 11, survey of NFIB members, February–April 2024; nfib.com, retrieved October 13, 2026. 3 years or fewer of ownership n=106; 21 years or more n=1,548. The Data Share of owners calling each problem critical, by years of ownership, 2024 Advertising cost-effectively 3 years or fewer13.1% 21 years or more5.2% Getting a long-term loan (5 years+) 3 years or fewer10.8% 21 years or more3.6% Using social media to promote the business 3 years or fewer11.7% 21 years or more4.1% Estate tax 3 years or fewer7.2% 21 years or more19.5% Environmental regulations 3 years or fewer4.4% 21 years or more12.9% Cyber crime 3 years or fewer5.0% 21 years or more11.5% The six problems where the gap in the share calling it critical also passes a conservative 95% test. All bars on one scale. NFIB Research Center, 2024 Small Business Problems & Priorities (11th edition), tables 1 and 11, survey of NFIB members, February–April 2024; nfib.com, retrieved October 13, 2026. 3 years or fewer of ownership n=106; 21 years or more n=1,548. ## What to take from this if you run the place If you are in your first few years, the survey says your list is not longer than a veteran’s; it is pointed somewhere else. The worries that rank higher are about getting in front of customers and getting the money to keep going. If you have been at it for decades, the ones that rank higher are about what you have built up and what can be taken from it: taxes on passing it on, rules, liability, a breach. The survey does not say why, and it cannot say that an owner’s list will move this way over time: these are different owners, each answering once. It does give you a fair check: are you spending your attention on the problems that sit high on a list like yours, or on the ones that sit high on someone else’s? Three limits worth holding. This is **years of ownership**, not the age of the business: an owner who bought an old firm last year counts as new. The respondents are **NFIB members**, and NFIB publishes no margins of error, so gaps here are tested against the spread of answers; the newest group has just 106 owners. And with 75 problems compared, a few gaps would pass any test by chance, which is why this piece leads with the widest. The Data Where the numbers land 21st where owners of 3 years or fewer rank advertising cost-effectively, of 75 52nd where owners of 21 years or more rank it 19.5% of owners of 21 years or more who call the estate tax critical 1st where both groups rank the cost of health insurance NFIB Research Center, 2024 Small Business Problems & Priorities. ## Frequently Asked Questions What problems do new business owners rank higher than long-time owners? In NFIB's 2024 survey, owners of three years or fewer rank advertising cost-effectively 21st of 75 against 52nd for owners of 21 years or more, and getting long-term and short-term loans about 20 places higher. What do owners of 21 years or more rank higher? The estate tax (39th against 70th), environmental regulations (35th against 63rd) and cyber crime (34th against 61st). What is the biggest problem for both? The cost of health insurance ranks first for both groups, with uncertainty over economic conditions second. Do newer owners face more problems overall? No. Newer owners rate 36 of the 75 problems as more severe and long-tenured owners 39. The lists differ in which problems rise, not in how heavy they are. Where does the data come from? NFIB Research Center's 2024 Small Business Problems & Priorities, the 11th edition of a survey of NFIB members run since 1982. The years-of-ownership split is its table 11. Keep reading - [Owners With 1 to 4 Employees Rank Managing Them 61st of 75 Problems. At 20 to 49, It Ranks 9th.](https://lonelyentrepreneur.com/founder-the-problem-you-hire-into/) - [Owners Whose Sales Fell 10% or More a Year Rank Finding Qualified Staff 13th. Owners Growing 10–24% Rank It 3rd.](https://lonelyentrepreneur.com/founder-the-list-that-moves/) - [Small Business Owners Just Named Their Biggest Problem. Last Month It Was a Different One.](https://lonelyentrepreneur.com/founder-biggest-problem/) Part of the entrepreneurial struggle: [Priority Problem](https://lonelyentrepreneur.com/entrepreneur-struggle/priorities/) ![The Lonely Entrepreneur](https://lonelyentrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/TLE_Logo_mobile-490W-26-26.png) Published by **The Lonely Entrepreneur** — the community and coaching platform for entrepreneurs who are building alone. [lonelyentrepreneur.com](https://lonelyentrepreneur.com/) This article is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for professional financial or legal advice.