Good News on Two Fronts – Main Street Optimistic about the Third Quarter, and a new SBA Capital Access Associate Administrator
July 10, 2013
By Bob Coleman
Editor, Coleman Report
Main Street optimism is exploding through the roof. Despite what you read about the economy, small business owners are optimistic about their futures, a whopping 73%, up from 45% only nine months ago.
From the SurePayroll Scorecard.
“Right now we’re seeing two stories in the small business economy: one for today, another for tomorrow,” said SurePayroll CEO and President Michael Alter. “Today things continue to be flat to slightly down, without much movement on the hiring front. However, there has been a steady trend of high optimism among small-business owners for tomorrow. Many believe we will see stronger results in the third quarter than we did in the second.”
The Scorecard survey asked small-business owners to assess the second quarter: 55 percent said it met expectations, 21 percent said it exceeded expectations and 24 percent said it was below expectations. More than half, however, said they expect to surpass expectations in the third quarter of the year, perhaps a reflection of a more optimistic outlook on the economy. More than half also plan to make new investments in the third quarter, most likely in marketing, technology and new staff.
“We’re in an environment where we have uncertainty surrounded by promise, ” Alter said. “The attitude of small business-owners is very positive right now, which suggests we should see growth in the future.”
Finally, we note Jeanne Hulit’s replacement has been announced. The new SBA Associate Administrator of the Office of Capital Access is Ann Marie Mehlum. Ann is the founder and a director of Oregon based community bank, Summit Bank.
Sincere kudos for the job Jeanne Hulit has done at SBA. She expertly balanced the political aspect of the job by being “the adult in the room” and doing her job to increase access to capital to Main Street. She helped streamline regulations, documentation and processes. And she was instrumental in managing the needs of SBA’s Inspector General, with her staff, and with the line SBA lenders who are doing the heavy lifting for Main Street.
We wish her luck as she heads back to continue her mission for the Main Streets of Maine!