# Profitability Falls 1.3%, Employees Expect Financial Guidance, AI Drives B2B Growth Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/thrive-a-paychex-business-podcast-1231062/profitability-falls-1-3-employees-expect-financial-guidance-ai-drives-b2b-growth Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/thrive-a-paychex-business-podcast-1231062/profitability-falls-1-3-employees-expect-financial-guidance-ai-drives-b2b-growth.md Podcast: [THRIVE, a Paychex Business Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/thrive-a-paychex-business-podcast-1231062) Published: 2026-05-28T04:02:00+00:00 Episode link: https://paychexbusiness.podbean.com/e/wir-05262026/ Audio file: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/7cyrdpascfiksnen/WIR_05262026b15h9.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/thrive-a-paychex-business-podcast-1231062/episodes/profitability-falls-1-3-employees-expect-financial-guidance-ai-drives-b2b-growth Duration seconds: 589 ## Resource Small businesses always have challenges, but these days none is more damaging than the costs of doing business jacked up by inflation. Gene Marks, a small business owner himself, shares a few tips on how to manage the situation against the year-over-year profitability plunge of 1.3%. Financial pressures are hitting many, and a report found that 90% of employees would leave and seek out a company offering financial wellness resources as part of a benefits package. On a good note, some startups are using AI to solve practical business problems in the B2B space and drive growth. Topics: 00:00 – Introduction 00:19 – Profitability Issues 03:34 – Financial Wellness Benefits 06:26 – Startups, AI, and Growth 08:25 – Episode Wrap-up Additional Resources Meet Paychex: https://bit.ly/3VtM6bs Small business and AI: https://bit.ly/ai-and-small-biz Register for AI webinar: https://bit.ly/ai-webinar-series DISCLAIMER:The information presented in this podcast, and that is further provided by the presenter, should not be considered legal or accounting advice, and should not substitute for legal, accounting, or other professional advice in which the facts and circumstances may warrant. We encourage you to consult legal counsel as it pertains to your own unique situation(s) and/or with any specific legal questions you may have. ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/thrive-a-paychex-business-podcast-1231062/episodes/profitability-falls-1-3-employees-expect-financial-guidance-ai-drives-b2b-growth/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/thrive-a-paychex-business-podcast-1231062/profitability-falls-1-3-employees-expect-financial-guidance-ai-drives-b2b-growth.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.