A dismal outlook: survey reveals small businesses are doubtful about the nation's economy.A recent study sponsored by the National Small Business Association revealed that small-business owners are in the midst Adv. 1. in the midst - the middle or central part or point; "in the midst of the forest"; "could he walk out in the midst of his piece?" midmost of challenging times. The report shows just 36% of total businesses polled consider the national economy better now than it was five years ago. Although minorities and women represent the fastest growing groups in the small-business community, they were more pessimistic pes·si·mism n. 1. A tendency to stress the negative or unfavorable or to take the gloomiest possible view: "We have seen too much defeatism, too much pessimism, too much of a negative approach" than the majority, believing the economy is worse (48% and 53%, respectively, compared with 43% of all business owners). "The problem right now in this country is we have an economy that is struggling," says Sharon Joseph, co-founder and co-owner of Harlem Lanes, a bowling alley and sports bar located in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . "The general unease of the economy has left small-business owners feeling like things aren't going in the right direction," says Todd McCracken, president of NSBA NSBA National School Boards Association NSBA National Small Business Association NSBA Nebraska State Bar Association NSBA National Snaffle Bit Association NSBA National Steel Bridge Alliance NSBA North Saskatoon Business Association (Canada) . "[But] as things solidify so·lid·i·fy v. so·lid·i·fied, so·lid·i·fy·ing, so·lid·i·fies v.tr. 1. To make solid, compact, or hard. 2. To make strong or united. v.intr. nationally, I think those numbers will turn around a bit." The Washington, D.C.-based small-business advocacy group surveyed 500 small- to mid-sized companies in an effort to gauge their challenges, perceptions, and outlook as fledgling businesses across the country. For the purpose of the survey, "economic uncertainty" was not defined for the businesses. "In terms of what that meant, [we left that] in the eyes of the respondents In the context of marketing research, a representative sample drawn from a larger population of people from whom information is collected and used to develop or confirm marketing strategy. ," says Glen Bolger, partner and co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies, the research firm that conducted the survey. Although a myriad of things contribute to their discontent, the findings reveal that the biggest concerns facing these businesses include economic uncertainty, the cost of healthcare benefits, and a lack of available capital. In addition, while businesses with 100 to 499 employees are able to rely on bank loans and earnings from their business, companies with less than five employees depend more on credit cards and private loans to meet their capital needs--71% revealed that they use credit cards to carry over substantial balances month to month. McCracken says organizations like NSBA are working to help alleviate Alleviate To make something easier to be endured. Mentioned in: Kinesiology, Applied some of these issues. For example, he says they have been in talks with individuals on Capitol Capitol, seat of the U.S. Congress Capitol, seat of the U.S. government at Washington, D.C. It is the city's dominating monument, built on an elevated site that was chosen by George Washington in consultation with Major Pierre L'Enfant. Hill about limiting how often credit card companies can change terms and conditions as well as how much they charge. Despite such dismal dis·mal adj. 1. Causing gloom or depression; dreary: dismal weather; took a dismal view of the economy. 2. news, small-business owners remain optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op . Eighty-one percent of respondents expressed "considerable confidence in a bright future for their own business." "We are optimistic and we [will] succeed on the support of the community," says Joseph, who emphasized the importance of investing in black-owned businesses adding that it is up to us to "sustain our own companies." Additional reporting by Kaylyn Kendall Dines TOP 12 CHALLENGES FACING SMALL-BUSINESS OWNERS Economic uncertainty 42% Cost of health insurance benefits 39% Lack of available capital 31% State and local taxes 27% Federal taxes 25% Lack of qualified workers 23% Regulatory burdens 17% Cost of employee salaries 15% Cost of technology 15% Cost of employee benefits 12% Foreign competition 10% Cost of training workers 5% SOURCE: NSBA NATIONAL SURVEY, MARCH 2007 Note: Table made from bar graph. |
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