The economic recovery of the last few years has slowly but surely trickled down to millions of small businesses across the country, and many polls now show that owners are growing increasingly optimistic. However, that’s not to say they universally see things as generally positive, even over the entirety of the coming year.
Currently, 71 percent of owners say that they either have a positive or very positive business outlook for the coming year, with another 25 percent seeing it as largely neutral, according to a new survey from the Endurance International Group. At the same time, only 4 percent have a negative outlook, and just 1 percent see their outlook for the coming year as very negative.
However, 73 percent say they don’t plan to hire new workers in 2015, and 54 percent say they probably won’t make any major capital outlays, the report said. Further, the vast majority (87 percent) seem to think the U.S. Congress has put little effort toward issues that could improve small businesses.
What issues loom largest?
Meanwhile, the issue most commonly cited among owners as what’s most important to their firms is taxes, the report said. That was followed by access to credit, the ability to hire workers who are qualified for job openings, and how they’re going to cover their employees’ health insurance costs. In addition, 76 percent of respondents also said that they thought Net Neutrality would impact their company in some way.
“U.S. small businesses are the backbone of our economy and ensuring their continued growth and success is critically important to driving our country forward,” said Endurance CEO and founder, Hari Ravichandran. “Our survey shows that while small businesses remain upbeat about the future, concerns about tax code reform and bank financing remain top of mind. It’s clear that our leaders in Washington need to keep small business at the top of their list of priorities when thinking about ways to create lasting economic growth.”
Owners who want to prepare their companies for as much success as possible in the coming year might want to consider the benefits of cutting costs, including those for small business insurance. For instance, if they can find more affordable liability insurance, they may be able to save thousands over the course of 2015, which they can then put toward other aspects of their firms.
