3 Things You Should Know About Small Business: Feb. 15
NEW YORK (
) -- What's happening in small business today?
1. Why small-business owners still won't hire.
A Gallup poll shows small-business owners' hiring intentions at the best they have been since January 2008, yet those who plan to hire still represent just a small portion of the overall group. The
Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index
polled 600 small-business owners between Jan. 9-13.
|
Of those polled, a majority said reasons for not hiring include: "not needing additional employees; worries about weak business conditions, including revenues; cash flow; and the overall U.S. economy." Nearly half also pointed to potential health care costs, as well as government regulations, as primary reasons. And one in four are not hiring because they worry they may not be in business in 12 months.
"Companies typically hold back on hiring when the economy is weak and when their operating environment is not providing sufficient revenues or cash flows. This appears to be the case right now, as the economy has been weak for more than four years. Less typical is for many owners to point to such things as potential health care costs and government regulations," the survey says.
2. Start-ups are optimistic about 2012, though.
Owners of start-up companies are surprisingly optimistic about 2012, according to the first
Kauffman/LegalZoom Startup Confidence Index
released today by the
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
and
, a provider of online legal document services and legal plans to young companies. The index is the first in a series of quarterly surveys to gauge entrepreneurial confidence. The next will be conducted in April.
According to the Index, more than a quarter of start-up companies say they plan to hire additional staff this year. Two-thirds of respondents say they expect the economy to improve or stay the same this year. Additionally, 81% are confident or very confident that their businesses will be more profitable in the next 12 months than they are today, the survey says.
"Despite the recent downward trends in business starts and start-up hiring, these data suggest new business owners have adopted the optimistic entrepreneurial spirit as they anticipate what lies ahead for their businesses in 2012," says Robert Litan, vice president of research and policy at the Kauffman Foundation. "Entrepreneurs drive the economy and, while this survey is one monitor on one group of entrepreneurs who matter, it may be a leading indicator that the trends are turning around."
2. The FroYo craze moves inland.
is fast becoming
. Frozen yogurt stores from
Red Mango
to
YoYo Berri
to
YoZone Frozen Yogurt
and even the enduring
TCBY
are updating stores there. Customers are attracted to the healthy dessert option and the level of control of the self-serve model, franchisees say.
Separately, Red Mango announced on Monday a deal to open in-store locations within
United Supermarkets
, a 30-store family-owned grocery chain. The first one comes this month to Abilene, Texas.
The location will be operated by franchisor Buddy Beach, who already operates a full-sized Red Mango in Lubbock, Texas.
-- Written by Laurie Kulikowski in New York.
To contact Laurie Kulikowski, send an email to:
Laurie.Kulikowski@thestreet.com
.
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http://twitter.com/#!/LKulikowski
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