Alex Della Rocca with American Express Forum shared this information with us. Encouraging!
Small business owners are more confident than they were a year ago and their top priority is “keeping/maintaining their current business and sources of revenue,” according to the 2015 American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor. The survey found 67 percent of small business owners feel optimistic about the economy and business prospects over the next six months (up significantly from 54% in spring 2014). Despite the positive outlook, entrepreneurs are cautious when it comes to capital investment plans (56%), flat from last year.
Now in its 14th year, the survey captures a snapshot of small business owner sentiment and plans for the future while providing segmentation by industry and geography.
Top level findings:
- Entrepreneurs are raising their salaries – business owners pay themselves an average annual salary of $73,700, up from $71,200 last fall
- Small business owners are less worried about saving for the retirement they want (47%, down significantly from 65% a year ago)
- Hiring plans (34%) are flat compared to last year
- Business growth is still critical as the majority of entrepreneurs plan to grow business over the next six months (76%, up from 72% last year)
o Construction is the leading industry with growth plans (91%) followed by manufacturing (86%) and retail (85%)
A news release outlining the results of the survey is available here.