â–¶ Biz Boost: An Administaff survey shows that small business owners are increasingly confident about the economy, with government interference as the top long-term concern. Findings include:
• 71% of business owners cite the economy as one of their biggest short-term concerns (still down from 77% in October and 83% last July), followed by government healthcare reform (54%).
• However, for long-term concerns, government expansion and its effect on business is the leading issue (55%), followed by the federal deficit (52%) and potential tax increases (50%). The economy comes in a distant fourth with 36%.
• When asked about their pipelines for new business in 2010, 55% say that they expect a sales increase (up from 48% last October); 30% predict it will stay the same, while only 7% anticipate decreasing sales.
• 72% of owners and managers of small- and medium-size businesses say that they are either meeting or exceeding their 2010 performance plans (compared to 58% in last year’s survey). The remaining 28% report that they are doing worse than expected.
Source: Administaff