2025: The Rise of The Business Owner

There’s no such thing as the perfect time to start a business.

But if there was one, it would look a lot like the year 2025.

I believe we’ll look back on this year as the moment entrepreneurship became easier, faster, and more accessible than at any point in human history.

What used to take $50,000, a team of specialists, and months of planning now can be done in a weekend with $20.

As a CPA and Fractional CFO, I’ve spent the last decade working with hundreds of business owners and entrepreneurs.

Today, I’m working with more aspiring business owners than ever. Many are seizing the opportunity that today’s low barrier to entry provides.

Just five years ago, the checklist to start a business looked like this:

• Hire a web developer

• Pay for custom branding

• Rent an office

• Quit your job

• Pray it all works out

The barriers were real. The costs were real. And the risk was serious.

Then everything started to change. Not gradually, but like a dam giving way after one too many cracks.

First came the AI revolution. ChatGPT didn't just arrive; it democratized capabilities that used to cost thousands. Suddenly, anyone could write compelling marketing copy, design logos, build websites, and even validate business ideas, all with tools that cost less than a monthly gym membership.

Then there’s the post-COVID work culture shift hit. The corporate world's promise of security started looking less secure. Remote work proved you didn't need an office. The gig economy showed you didn't need a boss. People began asking themselves: "Why am I building someone else's dream when I could be building my own?"

The tax code caught up too, favoring those who take the leap into entrepreneurship.
Business owners now benefit from some of the most powerful incentives in the entire tax code. These aren’t loopholes either; they’re intentional rewards for building, investing, and taking risk. A few standouts include:

• 100% Bonus Depreciation: Business owners can immediately deduct the full cost of qualifying equipment, machinery, and even certain vehicles which can dramatically reduce their taxable income in the year of purchase.

• R&D Expensing: If you're innovating, whether it's software, systems, or product development, you can write off those research and development expenses. This credit applies to far more businesses than most realize.

• Qualified Business Income (QBI) Deduction: Many pass-through businesses get a 20% deduction on net income, just for operating in a qualifying structure. That’s a significant reduction in effective tax rate for solo founders, freelancers, and partnerships alike.

• Legitimate Expense Write-Offs: From home office deductions to travel, software, education, and meals, business owners have the flexibility to write off ordinary and necessary expenses that W-2 employees simply cannot.

When it comes to taxes, the playing field isn’t even. The rules are tilted in favor of business owners, without a doubt.

And the tools? They’ve completely changed the game.

Platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, Shopify, Stripe, Canva, and Calendly have collapsed the complexity of business operations into a handful of intuitive clicks. What used to require an entire team of designers, developers, assistants, or marketers, can now be done solo in a single afternoon.

You can launch a brand, accept payments, schedule clients, and market your product, all without writing a line of code or hiring a single employee.

All of this converged in 2025 into something we’ve never seen before:
The lowest-cost, lowest-barrier, highest-leverage environment in history to start a business.
There’s never been a time where the upside has been this high and the friction this low.

I’ve seen clients go from idea to paying customer in under 48 hours.
I’ve watched people build six-figure side businesses by grinding through late nights and weekends, without any investors or cofounders.
I’ve seen the so-called “impossible” become not just possible, but easy.

And here’s the thing:
The entrepreneurs I work with today aren’t necessarily smarter or more experienced than the ones I worked with five years ago.

They’re just playing a different game.
One where the gatekeepers are gone.
One where the startup cost is a laptop and a login.
One where the tools are democratized and the playing field is wide open.

But after working with hundreds of entrepreneurs, here’s what I’ve learned:

The biggest barrier was never the tools, the money, or the market.

It was, and still is, the mindset.

The difference between those who succeed and those who stall isn’t access.

It’s action.

The people who succeed in 2025 aren't the ones waiting for the perfect moment.

They're the ones who recognize that the perfect moment is already here.

Stop waiting for conditions to get better. They're already better than they've ever been.

The question isn't whether 2025 is the right time to start your business. The question is: what are you going to do with this unprecedented opportunity?

Starting Building Today

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