Small-business owners are bogged down. According to the MetLife and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index for the fourth quarter of 2024, about half of owners “and decision makers” say handling regulatory compliance costs too much time and money.

And the problem is only getting worse: Owners in this report were more likely than last quarter and the same time last year to say that “time or resources spent on fulfilling regulatory compliance requirements has increased in the past six months.”

Small-business owners say they are spending much of their time on taxes, recordkeeping and payroll, as well as other items like licensing, permits, cybersecurity, and privacy. To keep up with all the to-dos, many owners — 44% — are outsourcing some of this work. That’s posing a financial burden, though, and 69% of owners say they spend more on compliance per employee than their larger competitors.

The ultimate — and concerning — result for owners comes down to growth: 51% say that “licensing, certification and permit requirements make it harder to grow their business,” according to the report.

“Too many regulations cause big headaches for small businesses,” said Tom Sullivan, vice president of small business policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a news release for the index, “even if they feel confident in their ability to comply or have the means to outsource compliance tasks.”

But things could be moving in a positive direction in 2025 — at least, that’s what owners are hoping. In this quarter’s index, more owners indicated that they are expecting increased revenue, investment and hiring than they were just months ago.

This optimism is reflected in another recent survey, from the National Federation of Independent Business, which showed the highest level of optimism among small-business owners in nearly three years.

Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist at the NFIB, pointed to the results of U.S. presidential election and said that owners were “particularly hopeful for tax and regulation policies that favor strong economic growth as well as relief from inflationary pressures.”

Looking at the results of the index and findings from the NFIB, Sullivan says he expects that “concern over regulation will decrease” in 2025. But that doesn’t mean growth will be easy: “The tougher question … is whether or not the concerns over inflation will decrease.”