Small businesses fuel innovation, provide critical goods and services, and foster community ties. However, factors like inflation and evolving tariff policies have created challenges over the past few years.
The City of San Francisco offers a blueprint for relief. By streamlining permitting and licensing approvals and reducing taxes and fees, the city lowered barriers to success. The effects of the permit reforms alone benefited more than 7,000 projects by late 2025.
The city’s approach—simplifying the permit process, reducing taxes and fees, centralizing business support services, and setting a clear small-business agenda—could help other cities develop their own strategies to help local businesses thrive.
