Across the country, many small business owners know all too well the difficulties that came with the financial downturn over the past several years, and a large number are only now beginning to really recover from those issues in full. Fortunately for those entrepreneurs, with economic improvement comes better financial standing.
Today, slightly less than half of independent company owners across the country report that they have concerns about their cash flow, according to the latest American Express OPEN Small business Monitor. That’s the best number seen since the onset of the recession in the fall of 2007, and down from the all-time high of 66 percent observed in spring 2011. Likewise, only 56 percent of owners report being stressed over the economy at large – a decline from 70 percent in spring 2011 – and nearly three out of every four owners say that they think they have enough access to capital.
“The recession’s silver lining is that small business owners have become more adept at navigating an uncertain economy, gaining valuable experience and putting it into practice along the way,” said Denise Pickett, president, American Express OPEN. “While they remain optimistic and confident in their ability to manage their businesses, entrepreneurs are realistic that challenges may arise and look beyond themselves – recognizing the importance of community and networking – understanding they do not have to go it alone.”
Other good signs
All this information seems to point to the fact that the majority of owners have positive views of their chances for success in the future, and just 13 percent say the economy is putting their companies in danger of folding, the report said. That latter number is a drop from 18 percent on an annual basis. Further, 55 percent say they’re going to make capital investments in their companies over the next six months, compared with 50 percent a year earlier. Hiring plans, however, remain more or less flat during that time, indicating that owners might instead choose to improve other aspects of their enterprises.
Of course, owners who generally want to continue improving their companies’ financial standings may be able to do so by finding more affordable small business insurance policies. Cutting costs for errors and omissions insurance, for example, might save companies thousands of dollars per year, which can then be put toward other aspects of the firm.
