How Small Business Owners Win in 2026 — Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin

Today, Nicole is teaming up with U.S. Bank to unpack the state of small businesses and what entrepreneurs can do right now to get ahead.

Nicole sits down with Shruti Patel, U.S. Bank's Chief Product Officer for the Business Banking segment, to unpack the findings from the bank's fourth annual Small Business Survey and what they reveal about the state of entrepreneurship right now. Shruti breaks down why small business optimism dipped from 93% to 83% this year even as resilience holds strong, why only 3% of owners are currently considering a sale or exit, and what that signals about the massive wealth transfer coming as Boomer-aged owners hand off their businesses to the next generation over the next decade.

Then the conversation turns to Gen Z founders specifically: their appetite for bold, calculated risk, and the surprising trend of delaying life milestones like marriage and family to build their businesses… a bet that, according to the data, is actually paying off in faster growth.

Nicole and Shruti also get tactical: how business credit actually works (and why your personal credit score matters more than you'd think) and the real documentation lenders want to see. Plus: how small businesses are using AI to cut costs (even when the ROI math gets murky), where digital currency payments stand today, and why frictionless checkout is a bigger deal than most owners realize.

Learn more about U.S. Bank's Small Business Banking solutions at: usbank.com

Check-out the results of U.S. Bank’s Small Business Survey: https://www.usbank.com/business-banking/business-resource-center/small-business-survey.html

Here's what Nicole covers with Shruti:

00:00 Are You Ready for Some Money Rehab?

00:43 Meet Shruti Patel, U.S. Bank's Chief Product Officer

01:20 Inside U.S. Bank's 4th Annual Small Business Survey

02:16 Why Optimism Dropped from 93% to 83%

04:45 Why Only 3% of Owners Are Considering an Exit

05:18 The Great Wealth Transfer and Succession Planning for the Next Decade

06:31 Inside Gen Z's Bold, Calculated Approach to Risk

07:37 Delaying Marriage and Family to Build a Business

09:03 "You Can Have It All, Just Not All at Once"

11:07 How Gen Z Defines Success

12:10 The Death of the "Shark Tank" Fundraising Dream

13:45 Debt vs. Equity: Rethinking How to Finance Growth

14:17 What Banks Look for Before Approving a Loan

16:08 Do Businesses Have Their Own Credit Score?

17:38 Personal Guarantees and the Documentation You'll Need

19:06 The SBA Loan Process

19:38 How Small Businesses Are Actually Using AI to Save Money

21:16 The "Digital Target Checkout" Problem with AI Costs

22:39 Where Digital Currency and Crypto Payments Stand Today

24:15 Why Frictionless Checkout Is Everything

26:03 Inside U.S. Bank's Business Essentials Launch

29:32 U.S. Bank's Partnership with the NFL and the Financial Edge Program

33:45 Shruti Patel's Tip You Can Take Straight to the Bank

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