Nearly two in three small business owners said they were more interested in this year's election than in the 2016 election, and 40% of entrepreneurs said they were "much more" interested this year, according to a September survey from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Election interest was especially high in the Midwest, where 71% of small business owners expressed interest in this year's proceedings.

On the eve of the election, the latest Speaking Startup episode features perspectives from a handful of Missouri entrepreneurs on this year's vote, which comes amid unprecedented and difficult circumstances due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Plus, driven in part by pandemic shifts and election-related demand, businesses in the notary industry are modernizing and flourishing. We look at what that has meant for some Missouri entrepreneurs.