“Outlook: Optimistic” For Small Businesses

It seems that not everyone is getting the blues because of the weak economy. As most of the financial sector button up against fears of a weakened economy, it seems that a majority of small businesses are maintaining a positive outlook and looking forward to better days.

A recent survey run by the JPMorgan Chase & Co. credit card division, Chase Card Services, shows that four out of five small businesses surveyed are either moderately or aggressively pursuing their growth strategies, producing more revenues among their current clients and moving up to newer markets. Only 5% of these small businesses were not interested in aggressively seeking business growth.

The list also shows that 75% of the small businesses who were part of the survey believe that the United States economy and their businesses as well, will be getting much better in the next three to six months. The survey questioned a hundred and sixty eight senior and chief executives forming the annual “Inc. 500/5000” list highlighting small companies with the fastest growth between the months of September 10 to September 14. The results of the survey are significant considering that small business operations number around 27 million in the U.S. These small businesses account for more or less 40 million jobs nationwide.

President of a new portfolio of credit cards, Ink from Chase, Richard Quigly says that the optimistic data collected from the survey is a validation of a sense of improvement in the economy. Notably, the new line of credit cards that Quigly is president of are targeted to the small businesses market.

About the results of the survey, Quigly said, “There’s certainly a bit of light on the horizon”. He added, “We’re not home yet but it’s certainly going in the right direction”.

The survey results also have something to say about employment. According to the survey, small businesses that were adding positions were at 49%. On the other hand, 29% said that they were not adding jobs, though they were hiring to upgrade talent. 15% said that they were not hiring and 5% said that they were letting go of some of their staff.
When asked what the toughest part of running a business in this economy IS, most of the business owners answered: accurate forecasting.

The positive outlook of small businesses may not reflect reality, however. According to Quigly, the positive outlook of small businesses maybe driven by “gut level passion” instead of logic. He said, “Logically, I think a lot of people wouldn’t even start a small business”.