It’s essentially known that confidence in the country’s economy still has some room to improve since its pre-recession levels, but a new report found that it’s slowly but surely recovering. The recent Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index from January revealed that optimism among the country’s small business owners increased to 45 – up from 24 in October and reaching the highest score since third quarter 2008.
Overall financial situations, revenue, cash flow, business capital spending, number of jobs and ability to obtain credit now and in the next 12 months are all measured for the Small Business Index. The survey results show that all criteria showed improvements from fourth quarter 2013:
- Twenty-two percent of owners believe they’ll hire this year, compared to 16 percent in the previous survey.
- Fifty-seven percent said their cash flow for the next 12 months will be “good,” while 52 percent said the same thing in the last quarter of 2013.
- The portion of owners who believe they’ll have increased revenue this year reached 48 percent, compared to 44 percent in the last survey.
- Those who believe their cash flow in the next 12 months will be “good” increased from 46 percent in fourth quarter 2013 to 52 percent in the latest survey.
- Finally, 23 percent of owners reported having difficulty obtaining credit, a decrease from 27 percent in fourth quarter 2013.
Increases in each area bode well for the economy as a whole, as small businesses are key to the country’s job market. When small business owners show their confidence through increased hiring and spending, Americans in general typically share the same sentiment, spending more money and investing more.
Small business owners who want to demonstrate their confidence by increasing spending and ramping up hiring should consult with a nontraditional lender like National Funding, which offer borrowers flexibility and ease of credit access.
