Katherine Raz

"Forty-two percent of applicants received the full amount of financing they sought, 36% received some or most, and 22% received none."

So: more than half did not have their full financing needs met. 🤔

2026 Report on Employer Firms: Findings from the 2025 Small Business Credit Survey Revenue and employment growth remained stable, but expectations for future revenue and employment growth declined. Nearly half of firms said they source at least some inputs from outside the United St...

The share of applicants that sought financing at online fintech lenders has increased over the last five years, from 17% in the 2020 survey to 29% in the 2025 survey. 🚩 🚩 🚩

Financing terms, not risk, dictate how small business owners are treated in underwriting for CRE. Those terms favor development, not owner occupancy.

A Commercial Down Payment Program Is Saving Miami’s Small Businesses From Displacement The Miami Foundation’s Collective Real Estate Ownership program has helped 30 small businesses owners go from renting their storefront properties to owning their own buildings.

I swear if you focus on this some of the other stuff just works out.

Six Common Mistakes - AMIBA local business, shop local, local economic development, 3 times the money, local economic impact, local dollars, independent business

When I talk about business owners in Tacoma trying to do everything themselves, I'm frustrated by the self-started "buy local" campaigns that focus on shopping and consumer choices. Friends—there is literally a playbook for this that we are not using. @theamiba.bsky.social

The Math Doesn’t Work And every chef in New York knows it

tl;dr You can't just be a chef-owner anymore, you have to side hustle. Ingredients are too expensive and hotels can offer your employees better pay and health insurance that you can't. Customers float between concept restaurants that are hot one minute, old the next. Rent is $30,000/month.

Why Is Areaware Closing? “What was already a fragile business model just collapsed.”

Tariffs. But also: the record label for housewares era is over? I always wanted to start that business. I guess I'm glad I opened a retail shop instead. (Not that I'm doing great in that business either. Is everything over?)

Washington D.C.! I’m coming out again March 14-18 ish with @mainstreetalliance.bsky.social—I would love to meet up if you’re local and doing Main Street, local self reliance, placemaking stuff. DM me!

Placemaking examples in Seattle

Also want to say this. When you win the social media popularity contest by sharing a daily pound of flesh with followers, you’re more likely to fully fund a GoFundMe. Young aspiring biz owners have learned strong parasocial relationships = paid leave and health insurance. We need a safety net.

Donate to Standing with Hailey Through Her Recovery, organized by Maggie Turney On Monday, February 1, 2026, Hailey Hernandez, owner of Side Piece Kitchen, wa… Maggie Turney needs your support for Standing with Hailey Through Her Recovery

Every time a business owner gets sick, injured, or simply needs time away for personal matters we have to do this. It’s exhausting for all involved. Let’s fix the system so we can exit this extractive tech platform eventually. One can dream, right?

How to Organize Safely in the Age of Surveillance From threat modeling to encrypted collaboration apps, we’ve collected experts’ tips and tools for safely and effectively building a group—even while being targeted and tracked by the powerful.

I don’t think I’ve ever had so many people writing to me to ask about encrypted/secure/private tools for comms, collaboration, and organizing. So @lhn.bsky.social and I talked to experts and assembled this: the Wired guide to organizing in an age of surveillance. www.wired.com/story/how-to...

Ughhhhh I gotta do this this year. I know a lot of people have a lot better reasons to be tired but I’m tired of having to migrate off one tech platform after another because of the shitty shit they pull. Leave Substack guide here is handy!

screenshot from an email

Got a request to add Fernseed to a list of businesses that participated in the Jan. 30 shutdown so people can support us. Organizer is planning to hand out the list at the March No Kings protest in Tacoma. Let me explain why this is misguided.

Sorry, First Citizens Bank. You thought you were just going to call and remind me my line is renewing in May and verify our annual revenue and not... get into a whole conversation about what our business financial needs are and how you can or can't meet them and the systemic reasons why? Oh, boy.

Total income has increased overall, it has not done so equitably The share for those at the top has grown far more than for everyone else. From 1995 to 2025, total income for the top 1% nearly quadrupled. What about the rest of us?

Relative to income and population growth, Washington’s budget has actually declined by 60% overall. From 1995 to 2025, the state’s yearly operating budget shrank from 1.55% to 0.63% of total personal income for every one million residents.

More at opportunityinstitute.org/blog/post/wa...

#WALeg

‘Millionaires tax’ clears first hurdle State Senators passed legislation Monday to create an income tax on those earning over $1 million a year, the first hurdle in what will likely prove to be a long legislative battle.

Millionaires Tax passes Washington State Senate!

Regardless of where you stand on this issue, it’s enraging that an organization called the Tacoma Business Council is making HB 2489 the hill they die on. Here’s a link to their alert on it. Tacoma Rising is also asking its list to oppose this bill. Again: why is this your issue? Of all the shit?

Storefront Revolt Podcast Episode 02: Explaining the Owner-Occupant Finance Trap Thoughts on the near impossibility of running an independent retail business during late stage enshittification of everything. Part personal narrative, part research project, part how-I-did-it, writte...

Join me in a cozy little 45-minute rant about how the deregulated banking system has allowed extractive “investors” to take over Main Street. Meanwhile business owners—the people who actually do the work—can’t buy buildings, and not because they can’t afford them.

Business Madness 2026 - Round 2 Voting (Top 64) It’s time to make your picks, Tacoma! You nominated your favorite businesses throughout January now help decide who makes it to the next round. Vote for the businesses that inspire you most in each ma...

We’re out here dying, Tacoma Rising turns it into the Hunger Games.

Donut-shaped pie chart in bright colors showing Fernseed percentage expenses in payroll (27.8%), credit card fees (2.7%), cost of goods (37%), bank fees and interest (3.35), rent (14.3%), software (3.1%), and supplies, meals, etc. (6.9%). Chart title says Fernseed 2025 Expenses

I just told a consultant in my Instagram comments that I am more than happy to share any Fernseed bookkeeping or metrics with people teaching business and entrepreneurship for good, not evil. I mean that. My books are open!

How we secured $468,000 in loans to renovate a garden center A detailed look at which banks lent to us—and which didn't—and how the owner-occupant lending trap limits potential for brick-and-mortar borrowers

I wrote this post about the practical reality of getting financing to renovate a commercial property when you own a small business. It's way harder than it needs to be because '90s banking deregulation ruined everything. This one is for paid subscribers only, but I offer a 7-day free trial.

Open for Tomorrow Fund — Main Street Alliance / Main Street Action

Donate to fund micro grants to Main Street businesses impacted financially by ICE occupation in Minneapolis.

Main Spotlight: Appreciating the Reality of a Storefront Business Owner This conversation between Main Street America's Director of Research and the owner of a plant shop in Tacoma, Wash., reveals the unique struggles of today's storefront business owners.

My Q&A with @mainstreetamerica.bsky.social on the economic realities of running a business on Main Street. In summary, property ownership used to be the stabilizing mechanism for small businesses, and it’s largely gone due to bank consolidation.

I'm currently leading the 1,000 Main Streets group in Tacoma, open to businesses throughout the South Sound. Join our email list to get updates on future actions & meetings here: tacoma1000mainstreets.myflodesk.com

I haven’t seen any updates in all this coverage about who has possession of Alex Pretti’s phone. Anyone?

Hours after ABC News ran a story about Mischief Toy Store, ICE agents arrived at their door “In 27 years of being retailers in St. Paul, we’ve never been audited for this,” one owner said.

Add this to the list of shit shop owners don’t get paid enough to deal with.

Good list of mutual aid efforts in Minneapolis.

Printed letter from retail developer about selling commercial property in Centralia, Washington

I’ve received at least two of these since we purchased our commercial buildings in Centralia, Washington. My partner bothered to follow up just out of curiosity and this company represents Dollar General.

All this is totally new to me but I just Googled. Never heard of thrifts or OTS but not surprised Dodd Frank is responsible for some of this, and there you go. Is there a reliable way to find portfolio lenders? Some kind of list of banks that don't suck, or filters to apply to directories?