Follow us on Twitter
Survey Says: Entrepreneurs Growing More Confident. Is It True?
By: Donna Ray Berkelhammer. This was posted Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
Loading ...According to a recent survey by Discover Financial Services Small Business Watch, 90 percent of people surveyed continue to rate the economy as fair to poor, unchanged from February. But a greater percentage of small business owners see economic conditions for their businesses improving, and fewer people see conditions getting worse. An excerpt from the report:
March Highlights:
- The number of small business owners who say the economy is getting worse dropped to 60 percent, down from 69 percent the previous month and significantly below the all-time high of 79 percent reached in June 2008. Those who see the economy getting better rose from 12 percent to 16 percent.
- 24 percent of owners see economic conditions for their businesses improving, up from 19 percent in February and the highest response in this category since August 2008. Similarly, 47 percent see conditions getting worse, down from 54 percent in February.
- 41 percent of owners say they have experienced temporary cash flow issues over the past 90 days, basically unchanged from 42 percent in February.
- Views of the current economy remained constant: 90 percent rated the economy as fair or poor in March, unchanged from February.
- 48 percent of owners say they plan to decrease spending on business development over the next six months, a drop from 51 percent in February; while 21 percent plan to increase spending and 29 percent will make no changes.
This report surveys businesses with five or more employees, which would include the bulk of my clients. I know my business clients are closely monitoring their cash flow and bottom lines. So far, I have not had to counsel them on layoffs, and a few are actually growing. After a very slow fall and winter, I am seeing business activity pick up.
How do you feel about the local business climate?
Tags: confidence, economy, employees, employers, entrepreneurs, small business
I think that what we are seeing is recession fatigue. People are tired of 20 months of a poor economy and now they see the Government taking steps. But according to Reuters today, http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5303F820090401 the private sector lost 742,000 jobs in March…a new record. Things on Main Street are getting worse, but what we see in the news is focused on Washington and Wall Street. We also see what is going on locally, but that can be deceiving. Many places have lost jobs in the last two months that are unlikely to be replaced. Significant layoffs are also ahead for the Auto industry, whether its the Administration or a Bankruptcy judge makes the cuts.
I encourage everyone to read an article in the current edition of The Atlantic http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200905/imf-advice written by the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Whether you agree with his approach to solving the problems that led us here (and will return us here if we don’t address them in significant ways) or not, his assessment of where we are and what’s ahead is difficult to counter.
Posted by: Scarlet Knight | April 1st, 2009 at 11:09 amAs for our own local community here in the Triangle and in NC generally, unemployment continues to climb…with increased joblessness in 99 of 100 counties in March and a statewide unemployment level that is now at 11.3%
http://www.wral.com/business/story/4857936/
Posted by: Scarlet Knight | April 1st, 2009 at 12:38 pm