The Small and Medium Enterprise is currently getting more attention from the Indonesian government as the contribution of this sector to the regional and national income has increased. Though the government is providing a lot of attention as well as facilities to the small businesses in the manufacturing sector, they face intense competition. Thus, the small enterprises need to ensure that they achieve good business performance. This research aims to investigate the role of entrepreneurial intensity and innovation in improving the performance of small businesses in Indonesia. For this purpose, one hundred and eighty-six small business owners participated in the survey. The data was analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling. The hypothesis results show that entrepreneurial intensity and innovation have a proven role in business performance of small enterprises. Entrepreneurial intensity in particular, significantly impacts innovation and exploration. And innovation is crucial for business performance. The results imply that to increase business performance, the owner and the manager also need to raise their entrepreneurial spirit, as it can enhance their willingness to explore and use their business experience to do more innovation activities. The more innovation is done by the company; the business performance is more likely to improve.