Small-Business Optimism at Pre-Recession Levels
NEW YORK -- Small-business owners’ optimism on their business prospects and the economy continue to rise, reports the fall issue of American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor. In Ohio, 82% of owners say the rewards being an entrepreneur outweigh the demands and 88% see the glass as “half-full” and are optimistic, up significantly from 66% six months ago.
Ohio business owners, however, are slightly less optimistic for their business prospects over the next six months, 58%, than they were last spring, 64%, and with their counterparts in the North Central states, 60%, and to all U.S. business owners, 63%. Fifty-one percent, down from 56% last spring, say they remain wary about the health of the economy. The priority that a plurality of Ohio business owners cited is maintaining their levels of revenues, 39%.
Sixty-three percent of U.S. business owners have a positive outlook, a level not seen since fall 2007 when 64% in the American Express survey had such an outlook. Stronger revenue growth might be the cause of these levels of optimism because more entrepreneurs, 42%, report their revenues are higher than a year ago, 38%. They are increasingly confident they can obtain the capital needed to increase their businesses, 79%, up from 72% six months ago, and concerns about cash flow are easing, 43%, down from 49% last spring.
Over the last three years, Ohio entrepreneurs on average experienced 13% growth in revenues, compared to 16% growth by business owners in the North Central states and 14% overall.
SOURCE: American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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