In late April, small business owners and workers in the United States were honored for their important role in economic competitiveness with the celebration of Small Business Week.

And their optimism is growing.

According to the semiannual survey OPEN from American Express Small Business Monitor, results of which were released last month, business owners are seeing the glass as "half-full."

The results of the survey, based on a nationally representative sample of 626 small business owners/managers of companies with fewer than 100 employees, showed that 87 percent of business owners identified with a positive outlook, reflected through their view on the economy and how it relates to their business.

Only one in three (30 percent) business owners say the downturn in the housing market has had a negative effect on their business.

"Entrepreneurs are a bellwether for many of the country's most important industries because they are so closely connected to purchasing decisions," said Susan Sobbott, president, OPEN from American Express. "Business owners continue to grow in their optimism, a good sign for the small business sector and the economy in general."

Additional small biz findings are as follows.

Hiring Plans

• Thirty-six (36) percent report plans to hire full- and/or part-time staff in the next six months, on par with 39 percent reported last spring;

• Among those, seven in 10 say they need to hire to handle their growing business or to help increase business volume, both 72 percent; and

• The number of respondents who report they would not be hiring over the next six months (29 percent) hit a six-year low.

Overall, half of business owners (49 percent) do not agree that an increase in minimum wage would hurt the small business community, according to the OPEN from American Express survey's findings. Women especially disagree that it would have an impact on small business negatively (55 percent), whereas only 37 percent of men disagree with the idea.

Capital Investments

• Sixty (60) percent of owners plan to make capital investments over the next six months, on par with 64 percent last spring;

• Business owners likely will invest most heavily in the area of technology (45 percent), and more are planning to make their next purchase in mid-priced equipment such as desktops, laptops and printers than a year ago (57 percent versus 47 percent);

• One in five (20 percent) plan on making more substantial investments in major technology infrastructure such as software, servers or telephone systems; and

• Additional investment areas include office equipment (22 percent), office furnishings (15 percent), manufacturing/production equipment (14 percent) and real estate (13 percent).

Retirement

• Nearly four in 10 entrepreneurs (39 percent) believe social security will fund less than 25 percent of their retirement;

• More than half of entrepreneurs (58 percent) believe private investment accounts are a good way to save social security;

• More business owners are concerned about their ability to save for retirement this spring than last year (66 percent versus 62 percent in 2006); and

• More than half (57 percent) of business owners report they are on track to save the funds they need for retirement versus 55 percent last spring.

However, not everything is rosy on the small-biz front.

Health Care

In last month's Small Business Health-Care Survey, the National Federation of Independent Business' most recent small-biz health-care data available, 74 percent of NFIB members identified cost as the single most important problem facing the health system today.

Additional highlights from the survey include:

• Seventy-nine (79) percent of NFIB members believe the overall quality of health care available to most Americans is excellent or pretty good;

• Ninety-five (95) percent believe that everyone who benefits from financial assistance for health care should be required to pay some portion of their health care or insurance;

• Fifty-seven (57) percent indicate a preference for individuals above a reasonable income level to be required to have health insurance or be able to prove financial responsibility; and

• Seventy-one (71) percent think all health-care providers who expect reimbursement from insurers should be required to have computerized records.

About 70 percent of NFIB members believe that making consumers more aware of health-care and insurance costs will encourage them to become better health-care consumers.

Only 48 percent of the smallest companies (3-9 employees) today offer health benefits, according to the Employer Health Benefits 2006 Annual Report, from the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust (via the U.S. Small Business Administration). That compares with 73 percent of firms with 10-24 workers, 87 percent of firms with 25-49 workers and more than 90 percent of firms with 50+ workers.

No one ever said running or working for a small business is easy, so why do entrepreneurs do it? The recent OPEN from American Express survey addressed that, too. It's about to get maudlin:

Four in ten (38 percent) respondents said the biggest influence in becoming an entrepreneur is passion — followed distantly by natural entrepreneurial inclination (20 percent) and being born into it (18 percent).

We also think being your own boss has a little something to do with it, too. Just sayin'.

Resources

Celebrating National Small Business Week 2007
U.S. Small Business Administration

Small Business Optimism is on an Upswing, According to the OPEN from American Express Small Business Monitor
OPEN from American Express, May 24, 2007

U.S. Small Businesses Expect Increased Revenue In Third Quarter
by Adrienne Selko
IndustryWeek, June 4, 2007

NFIB Releases Small Business Health-Care Survey Results
National Federation of Independent Business, May 21, 2007

U.S. Small Business Administration: Health Care