According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 20.4% of businesses close in their first year, and 65.3% close within 10 years. If you're wondering where your business stands against those odds, you're not alone, but there's a more useful question to ask than how many businesses succeed: what separates the businesses that last from the ones that don’t?
Some industries last longer than others by a wide margin. Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting has the highest business survival rate measured in Squarespace's own Business Lifespan Report. While other industries may have more capital and resources, agriculture is one of the most durable sectors in the U.S. economy decade after decade.
Multi-generational ownership and baseline demand that survives any economic downturn explain much of that advantage. But there’s something else farmers are doing that you can apply to your business without having to strap on a pair of rubber muck boots.
Why agriculture has the highest business survival rate
It’s not good soil or dependable tractors making agriculture the top industry. When you take a closer look at businesses in this sector, there are three core patterns driving their durability:
- Long-term ownership that doesn’t depend on one person
Long-term ownership that doesn’t depend on one person
- An asset that holds or grows in value
An asset that holds or grows in value
- Demand that doesn’t disappear when the economy slows
Demand that doesn’t disappear when the economy slows
You can build that same durability into the digital foundation of your business, no matter what industry you’re in. Whether you're a solo founder starting an ecommerce store or running a photography studio, what you own online can sustain your business long after a single good year or a single good decision.
The durability pattern: What you own vs. what you “rent”
Over 60% of U.S. farmland is owner-operated, compared with 39% that's rented. That ownership is part of what makes farming durable. For most businesses with an online presence, the digital channels you operate on work the same way. Social media, third-party marketplaces, and paid ads all function like rented space. Relying on these channels alone comes with a risk. An algorithm update can erase your visibility overnight, with no notice and no appeal. When you rent your primary business-driving channels, your business's survival depends on rules you don't control.
The value of owned digital assets
For a small business, a service provider, or an online store, your digital foundation rests on three things: your own domain, a professional website, and the customer relationships you build over time.
A domain you've owned and used consistently for years works like an appreciating asset, one that isn't at risk of disappearing if a platform's rules or algorithms change. Keeping your website live and active has a similar payoff, with each year adding more search visibility, more content, and a longer track record for customers to check. And the customer relationships you build directly, not through a platform, can stay with you no matter what changes around you.
Ultimately, the assets you fully own may matter more to your business’s longevity than which industry it's technically classified under.
The digital asset audit: Is your foundation owned or rented?
Now take stock of your business today. For every channel you rely on, ask whether you own it outright or whether a platform could take it away tomorrow. If most of what drives your business sits in the rented column, here's where to start moving it into the owned one:
- Secure your digital “deed”: Register a domain for your business as soon as you have a name, even before your site is finished. A domain that matches your business name makes you easier to find and remember, and it reinforces your brand every time someone sees it. It also makes your site look more established than a generic or unrelated domain would. That recognition supports your SEO too: as you build on your domain with content, backlinks, and consistent traffic, you improve your chances of ranking higher over time.
Secure your digital “deed”: Register a domain for your business as soon as you have a name, even before your site is finished. A domain that matches your business name makes you easier to find and remember, and it reinforces your brand every time someone sees it. It also makes your site look more established than a generic or unrelated domain would. That recognition supports your SEO too: as you build on your domain with content, backlinks, and consistent traffic, you improve your chances of ranking higher over time.
- Own your transactions: When you sell through your own site instead of a third-party marketplace, you keep the customer relationship and the data that comes with it, not just the sale. You also control the entire experience, from branding to checkout to your return policy, instead of working within someone else's rules. And you keep more of what you earn, since you're not splitting the sale with a marketplace's fees.
Own your transactions: When you sell through your own site instead of a third-party marketplace, you keep the customer relationship and the data that comes with it, not just the sale. You also control the entire experience, from branding to checkout to your return policy, instead of working within someone else's rules. And you keep more of what you earn, since you're not splitting the sale with a marketplace's fees.
- Capture the relationship: A social media follower belongs to the platform. An email or SMS subscriber belongs to you. Add a signup form to your site, and every follower who joins your list becomes a contact you can reach directly, no algorithm required. That list stays with your business even if a platform disappears, changes its rules, or buries your posts in a feed you can't control.
Capture the relationship: A social media follower belongs to the platform. An email or SMS subscriber belongs to you. Add a signup form to your site, and every follower who joins your list becomes a contact you can reach directly, no algorithm required. That list stays with your business even if a platform disappears, changes its rules, or buries your posts in a feed you can't control.
Building a foundation meant to last
The businesses with the highest survival rates don’t cross the ten-year mark thanks to lucky breaks or a good year. They survive because they are built on something genuinely durable. They control their core assets, plan for long-term continuity, and, to the best of their ability, avoid external forces that can wipe out their operations.
For entrepreneurs outside of the agriculture industry, building that kind of durability needs to happen the moment your business is launched. You shouldn’t treat your digital footprint as something that can be outsourced or dealt with later. You should build your foundation on things you can actually control.
Start with a professional website and an owned domain to give your business the stable assets it needs to outlast the statistics.