SCORE Small Business Blog

Wells Fargo / Gallup survey shows a sharp uptick in owner optimism

Each quarter since August of 2003, Wells Fargo and Gallup have been surveying small business owners and then compiling these results into an overall index of business owner optimism.

The good news is that more owners see good news – and by a significant jump.  While the index is now at -4 (with zero being neutral, neither optimistic nor pessimistic), compared to the dog days of last summer (an all time low of -28 in July of 2010), there is certainly a major improvement in confidence.

And confidence translates into a better economic environment, with indicators significantly better than just the previous quarter:

• Capital Spending – 24% of owners expect to spend more on computers, facilities, machinery and other long-term investments over the next 12 months.
• Cash Flow – 50% expect their companies’ cash flow to be “very good” or “somewhat good”.
• Hiring – 18% expect to hire new employees in 2011.
• Revenues – 44% of small business owners expect their companies’ revenues to increase a lot or a little over the next year.

But the other interesting part of this research is what has not changed.  Since the start of this quarterly survey, owners consistently feel mostly successful and still are happy with their decision to be business owners rather than employees.  Interestingly this underlying optimism is constant no matter the economy.

This is good news for all of us.

Your Next Best Three Steps:

1.     Celebrate. Look forward and reenergize knowing that 2011 will bring better times.

2.     Plan.  Ensure you are part of the rising tide by having your business, marketing/sales and financial plans all in order.  Sign up for our webinar on planning early January.

3.    Learn. Take advantage of the many great planning and informational resources out there like SCORE and the new Wells Fargo Small Business Financial Education Website.

Jeanne Rossomme – President, RoadMap Marketing Jeanne uses her 20 years of marketing know-how to help small business owners reach their goals. Before becoming an entrepreneur, she held a variety of marketing positions with DuPont and General Electric. Jeanne regularly hosts online webinars and workshops in both English and Spanish. www.roadmapmarketing.com | @roadmapmarketin | More from Jeanne