Investing In Growth: Where Small Businesses Would Put $80K

Chart showing investing in growth priorities among small business owners, with marketing leading at 32.1%, followed by operations at 25.9% and technology at 23.3%.

Investing in growth can take many forms, but if small business owners suddenly had $80,000 to put toward their companies, where would the money go? New Small Business Expo Research Team data shows a clear preference for putting new capital directly to work: attracting customers, strengthening operations, and investing in technology.

Among 464 small business owners, 81.3% selected marketing and customer acquisition, inventory/equipment/operations, or AI/automation/technology as their first choice for an $80,000 growth investment. Hiring, building cash reserves, and paying down debt ranked much lower.

The findings suggest that when owners think about accelerating growth, most are looking first at generating demand and getting more from the infrastructure behind their businesses—rather than immediately expanding headcount or holding onto the money.

Highlights

81.3% would invest in marketing/customer acquisition, operations, or technology.
32.1% would prioritize marketing and customer acquisition, the most popular choice.
25.9% would invest in inventory, equipment, or operations.
23.3% would invest in AI, automation, or other technology.
Only 9.1% would use the money to hire an employee.
8.2% would keep the money as cash reserves, while just 1.5% would pay down business debt.

Marketing Leads When Investing in Growth

For the largest share of respondents, growth starts with bringing in more business.

32.1% say they would spend the $80,000 on marketing and customer acquisition, making it the top response overall.

That result puts customer growth ahead of every other investment category. It also shows how important demand generation remains when owners think about investing in growth. Businesses may have more money to deploy, but that alone does not guarantee more customers.

Research from the U.S. Small Business Administration similarly identifies marketing and sales as fundamental parts of business growth, including understanding target customers, competitive positioning, and the strategies used to reach new buyers.¹

Operations and Technology Are Close Behind

Marketing leads, but it is far from the only priority.

Another 25.9% would put the money toward inventory, equipment, or operations, while 23.3% would choose AI, automation, or other technology.

Combined, 49.1% of respondents would invest in one of these two areas.

The near-even split among the top three responses is significant. Rather than revealing a single formula for growth, the data points toward three major priorities: creating demand, increasing operational capacity, and using technology to improve how work gets done.

Technology’s position is particularly notable. Nearly one-quarter of owners would make AI, automation, or other technology their first choice for a hypothetical $80,000 investment—putting it only 2.6 percentage points behind traditional investments in inventory, equipment, and operations.

The Federal Reserve Banks’ 2025 Small Business Credit Survey found that small employer firms were already using AI for a range of business functions, with writing and marketing among the most common applications.² As these tools expand beyond content creation into automation and other business processes, technology may increasingly compete with more traditional investments for growth capital.

Hiring Ranks Well Behind Other Growth Strategies

Perhaps the most striking contrast is what owners wouldn’t prioritize.

Only 9.1% say their first choice would be to hire an employee.

Respondents are therefore about 3.5 times as likely to prioritize marketing and customer acquisition as hiring. They’re also nearly three times as likely to invest in operations and more than twice as likely to choose technology.

This does not necessarily mean small businesses are opposed to hiring. The question asks owners to select only one investment, so the results instead reveal how hiring compares with other priorities when capital is limited and a choice has to be made.

For most respondents, adding another person simply isn’t at the top of the list.

The three leading responses all focus on strengthening what surrounds the workforce: more customers, greater operational capacity, and better technology. For these owners, investing in growth appears to be less about immediately expanding the workforce and more about strengthening the systems, tools, and customer base that support the business.

Few Owners Would Hold the Money or Pay Down Debt

Defensive uses of the hypothetical $80,000 rank even lower.

Only 8.2% would keep the money as cash reserves, and just 1.5% would use it to pay down business debt.

Combined, those choices account for only 9.7% of respondents.

By comparison, 90.3% selected an option that would actively deploy the capital into marketing, operations, technology, or hiring.

That distinction matters. The survey specifically framed the $80,000 as money for investing in growth, which may naturally encourage respondents to favor active investments. Still, the overwhelming preference for deploying the capital offers insight into where owners believe additional resources could make the greatest difference.

Final Takeaway

If small business owners had $80,000 available for growth today, most wouldn’t start by adding an employee, stockpiling cash, or paying down debt.

They would invest it back into the engines of the business.

More than 8 in 10 respondents would choose marketing and customer acquisition, inventory/equipment/operations, or AI/automation/technology. Marketing leads at 32.1%, but the relatively close results across all three categories show that owners see multiple paths to growth.

The bigger story may therefore be less about which category finished first and more about what the top choices have in common: small business owners overwhelmingly want new capital working toward more customers, stronger operations, and greater efficiency.

Footnotes