If there’s one thing veteran entrepreneurs understand, it’s that downturns don’t always announce themselves—they accelerate. With economic signals flashing mixed messages and structural uncertainties mounting in 2025, founders and co-founders must shift from passive observation to proactive preparation.

The question isn’t whether a recession is officially declared. It’s whether your business is structured to endure—and evolve—when things get tighter.

Economic downturns have a way of separating reactive businesses from resilient ones. In 2025, with early signs of contraction already surfacing in the U.S. economy, founders and co-founders face a crucial question: How do you continue to grow—or even stabilize—when headwinds intensify?

While the headlines often focus on macro forces, seasoned entrepreneurs know that success during economic slowdowns lies in decisive, internal shifts. It’s not just about surviving—it’s about repositioning your business to thrive in a new context. Below are three core moves that every founder should be making in today’s environment, drawn from real-world leadership playbooks.

The U.S. economy contracted by 0.3% in Q1 2025—marking its first decline in over three years and a sharp turn from the 2.4% growth seen in Q4 2024, as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. While economists remain split on whether this signals a full-blown recession, for entrepreneurs and small business owners, the slowdown is already being felt in real time.

With consumer spending decelerating and economic concentration skewed—10 of the largest merchants account for nearly 35% of all U.S. consumer spending, according to Bloomberg’s 2025 data—small businesses are left competing for a shrinking piece of the pie. Rising tariffs and ongoing cost pressures are only intensifying the squeeze, disproportionately impacting lean-run operations and founder-led ventures.

In today’s hyper-connected business environment, entrepreneurship is no longer confined by borders. For founders and co-founders with the ambition to scale globally, the question is no longer if but how. Yet going global isn’t simply a matter of expansion—it requires an intentional recalibration of strategy, mindset, and skills.

Imagine accepting a job where you’re guaranteed no paycheck, asked to put up all your savings, and expected to outperform everyone around you—without the certainty of success. On paper, it’s a reckless gamble. Yet this is exactly what entrepreneurship demands.

And yet, framed differently: What if that same job promised no limits to your growth, allowed you to answer only to customers, and gave you the power to create meaningful value—for others and for yourself? Suddenly, the proposition doesn’t sound so crazy. For some, this sounds like a disaster. For others, like the author of this deeply experienced reflection, it’s a calling.

Most founders step into the arena with vision, energy, and the will to build something meaningful. But what separates a flash-in-the-pan idea from a truly sustainable enterprise? It’s not just product-market fit or early traction—it’s the ability to endure, adapt, and grow through adversity.

This perspective comes not from theory but from 11 years of lived experience—of building a wellness-based medical and aesthetic center rooted in holistic care. And while the founder behind this journey started out as a physician, what she became over the decade was a business builder, a systems thinker, and a leader shaped by both successes and setbacks.

There’s a familiar narrative in startup culture—one where inspired founders raise millions in a pitch-perfect moment and scale to unicorn status overnight. But for most seasoned founders and co-founders reading this, the reality is far more nuanced, often defined by long nights, mounting pressure, and a cycle of persistent trial and error. A recent study reinforces this with sobering data: 72% of entrepreneurs report grappling with mental health challenges due to the stress of building a business.

We often romanticize the startup journey as a whirlwind of big ideas, fast funding, and immediate traction. The reality, of course, is far more complex. While nearly 4.7 million businesses are launched annually in the U.S., most never cross the finish line. Within five years, nearly half shut down; by year ten, two-thirds are gone.

Despite economic uncertainties and industry shake-ups, America’s entrepreneurial engine is still running full throttle. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a staggering 5.5 million new business applications were filed last year—a record high. And this year is off to a strong start with another 1.5 million applications already logged in the first quarter alone.

In a striking policy move, former President Donald Trump has reignited his “most-favored-nation” (MFN) drug pricing strategy—this time with a new executive order aimed squarely at reducing prescription costs for Americans. The order mandates that U.S. drug prices align with the lowest prices charged in other developed nations, a shift that Trump claims could slash costs by 30% to 80% “almost immediately.” While the proposal sounds like a win for American patients, the reality is far more complex—especially for those navigating the intersections of business, policy, and innovation.