2002 Small Business Outlook Survey Results
by
Janet Attard
How's business?
"Getting better," say the majority of business owners who took the
Business Know-How Small Business Outlook survey recently.
Throughout the first three quarters of
2002, the majority of small business owners used terms like "Difficult,"
"Trying," or "Extremely slow" when they talked about their sales.
But by the fourth quarter of 2002, more
than half of the small businesses who took the Business Know-How 2002
Small Business Outlook survey saw at least some improvement in business.
Thirty-six percent of the survey respondents reported that the last
quarter in 2002 was slightly more profitable than the third quarter, and
twenty-one percent said the 4th quarter was much more profitable than the
previous quarter.
Optimism for 2003
About two-thirds of the survey takers expect to be more profitable in the
first quarter of 2003 than they were in the last quarter of 2002. But no
one is expecting the going to be easy. One woman commented that she
thought her business would be more profitable in 2003 because "things
can't get any worse than they are now."
Not everyone expects improvement, though.
About 11% of survey takers thought their businesses would be less
profitable in 2003, however. One commented, "I have lost two clients in
the last 4 weeks due to financial problems they were having. My marketing
efforts in the last 3 months do not seem to be effective as they were in
the past. I'm wondering if the economy is getting even worse than we
thought it was. "
More for Love than Money?
When asked how the income from their business compared to the income
they'd make as an employee in some other business, nearly half of the
survey takers thought they'd make more if they got a job than they did in
their own businesses. One-third of the respondents indicated they'd give
up their business and take a job "if the price were right." Sadly,
twenty-nine percent of the survey takers had no healthcare coverage
whatsoever.
To view the complete survey results in graph format, click
here.
What keeps them going?
Determination, planning and hard work is what keeps most of the small
businesses going. That and the desire to be the boss and call the shots.
Michael Bacarella, President of Netgraft Corporation, sums it up this way:
"A wise person once said that the tradeoffs between being an employee and
being a contractor is the tradeoff between the illusion of security and
the illusion of freedom. That said, I much prefer the illusion I've picked
for myself."
Talk to us
How does your business compare? Do you think things will be better in 2003
than they were in 2002? What are the biggest problems you face? Post a
message on our message board and let us know what you think.
http://www.businessknowhow.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=197
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