Health Care, Financing Top Small-Business Concerns

More than 80% of the owners surveyed state they are confident about the future of their businesses. This, McCracken says, is a very good sign. Another promising find is the growing diversity of the small-business community in this country. "We're beginning to see increasing levels of small-business ownership by women and minorities and broader groups of the population."

Health Care and Financing Concerns

Besides economic uncertainty, a majority of entrepreneurs stated the cost of health care benefits and lack of available capital as the biggest challenges plaguing their businesses.

While McCracken says it's not surprising that the provision of health insurance for employees continues to decline among small companies, it does reaffirm that it is a very serious issue. He believes it has surprised many people that more than 70% of the small companies surveyed are in favor of supporting big reforms in the health-insurance market. However, at the same time, a majority do reject a federal mandate.

"Often small companies are seen as an obstacle to getting health care reforms," McCracken says. But "in fact, the survey showed pretty clearly that they would support reforms in the health care system by large majorities."

One of the most surprising and worrisome discoveries from the survey came from the financing section, McCracken continues, and finding that a lot fewer businesses have adequate access to financing. "At the same time, the percentage of companies that are carrying a balance, sometimes a fairly significant balance, on their credit cards for business purposes is up markedly," he notes.