Economy Looking Up For Small Business

Are entrepreneurial businesses feeling good about 2010?  You bet.

Here are some interesting stats from the March issue of Inc. Manazine.




In a survey of Inc. 500 CEOs from 90 different companies:

• 93% said they expect to hire employees within the next six months
• 97% said they do not expect to lay off employees within the next six months
• 66% said they hired 1-10 employees in the past six months
• 99% said they are very or somewhat optimistic about 2010 (60% said VERY optimistic)

And it’s not only Inc. companies.  According to the article, global accounting firm Grant Thornton International conducted a survey and 51% of 250 U.S. respondents felt optimistic about the 2010 economy and nearly a third plan to increase their workforce in 2010.

I’m not sure about the rest of the country, but here in Los Angeles, people are shopping again.  There seems to be a buzz in malls and streets have more foot traffic.  In conversations, there’s a general feeling that the worst has passed, that we don’t have to be quite so tight with our wallets, and that it’s okay to do a little discretionary spending again.

And those surveys above seem to bear this out.

We’re still in a phase where you have to spend money to make money.  So perhaps you should splurge a bit on your business.  Do a little more marketing, bring in a new brand or product line.  This is where you become proactive in anticipation of a good year ahead.

What is your outlook for 2010?

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Photo courtesy flickr user carianoff