New Surveys Show Signs of Optimism Among Small Business Owners
By Mae Anderson
FILE - Small businesses line the boardwalk in Wildwood, N.J., on Aug. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Small business owners overall are feeling positive about their business and achieving the goals they set for this year despite inflation and high labor costs, according to two new surveys.
“At the mid-point of 2024, we asked small businesses to look back on the goals they set for the year, and we found that they’re satisfied with their progress and successes over the first half,” said Gina Taylor Cotter, executive vice president and general manager of American Express' small business products.
The American Express survey of more than 1,100 small business financial decision makers found that 83% of owners said that the past few years have required them to think more creatively than ever before, and 87% said that each year they feel more confident in their skills as business owners.
The National Federation of Independent Business, meanwhile, said its Small Business Optimism Index rose 2.2 points in July to 93.7, the highest reading since February 2022. Still, it is the 31st consecutive month below the 50-year average of 98. Inflation remains the top issue among small business owners, with 25% reporting it as the single most important problem in operating their business.
“Despite this increase in optimism, the road ahead remains tough for the nation’s small business owners,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Cost pressures, especially labor costs, continue to plague small business operations, impacting their bottom line.”
Six weeks before UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down outside a Manhattan hotel last December, Luigi Mangione mused about rebelling against “the deadly, greed fueled health insurance cartel” and expressed that killing the executive “conveys a greedy bastard that had it coming."
Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson once clashed on the court in the 2001 NBA Finals, but now the basketball legends are joining forces to revive the Reebok brand they helped make iconic.
Midea is voluntarily recalling about 1.7 million of its popular U and U+ Smart air conditioners because pooled water in the units may not drain fast enough, leading to mold growth.
Jeremy Fox-Geen, the Chief Financial Officer at Circle, joins Cheddar for a one-on-one interview as the company's stock surges on its first day of trading.
A unanimous Supreme Court has made it easier to bring lawsuits over so-called reverse discrimination, siding with an Ohio woman who claims she didn’t get a job and was demoted because she's straight.
