C-Suite Wednesday — Small Business Optimism Continues to Rise
March 15, 2017
By Bob Coleman
Editor, C-Suite Wednesday
C-Suite Wednesday — Small Business Optimism Continues to Rise
Every day I seem to read a newly-released report touting small business optimism on micro and macro levels.
“Small business owners are the most optimistic they have been since the start of the Great Recession” is another one in this week’s report released by the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index.
- 71% say their current financial situation is very or somewhat good, up from 66% in Q4.
- 45% say their business’ revenue increased a little or a lot,up from 37% in Q4.
- 64% say their cash flow was very or somewhat good, up from 55% in Q4.
- 40% say that credit was somewhat or easy to obtain, up from 34% in Q4.
Small business owners are saving for the future
Small business owners also said they are actively saving for retirement. In the February survey, 82 percent of small business owners said they are currently saving or investing money toward their retirement, and 76 percent said they think they’ll have enough money to live comfortably in retirement, up 10 percentage points from when this question was last asked in January 2014.
Small business owners also reported fewer concerns regarding their financial matters in retirement:
- 46% said they are very or moderately worried about being able to pay medical costs of a serious illness or accident in retirement, down from 57% in January 2014
- 42% are very or moderately worried about being able to build back retirement savings lost during the recent economic downturn, down from 50% in January 2014
- Just 21% said they are very or moderately worried about being able to sell their business when they are ready to, down from 33% in January 2014