Small businesses (SMBs) are the heart of the American economy. In fact, studies show a new business is started in the U.S. every minute. It’s even been said that more than 50 percent of all workers will be self-employed by 2020.
And now as we chart a course into 2017, under the governance of a new commander-in-chief, there are potential new concerns for SMBs on top of normal day-to-day business affairs. Where do you see your business going in the coming year? Have you attempted anything new to grow revenue and profits? What is your confidence level in the economy? Those are just a few of the questions we were curious about in the poll.
This year’s survey results represented data from 1127 different small businesses, the highest participation to date. Small business leaders and executives weighed in on important topics, including:
- Support of government for small businesses
- Impact of the election and a new presidency
- Top business challenges
- Anticipated growth
- Growth strategies
- Social media use
- IT spending and use
After we took time to hone in on the most important topics, administer the surveys, collect data, and analyze the responses, some of the results were surprising and changed our assumptions about the state of small business. It’s also very interesting to compare the stats year-over-year. The following are some key findings from the report:
- 50 percent of SMBs plan to hire new employees in the coming year, even though over half of companies find it to be their biggest challenge.
- 49 percent of respondents believe a new president will have a positive effect on their company’s growth.
- 28 percent of businesses polled sell goods or services on their respective websites, four percent less than in 2016.
Further, confidence in the U.S. economy has remained unchanged, with either no change or a slight rise in optimism. That being said, 69 percent anticipate an increase in revenue over 2016. You can find even more data on marketing, social media, IT, and when you read the report.
Read more at http://www.waspbarcode.com/buzz/2017-state-of-small-business-report-the-survey-says/