PROVIDENCE – Small-business owners across the United States continue to have a favorable outlook on their business, according to Bank of America Corp.’s 2023 Women & Minority Business Owner Spotlight report, with 67% of survey respondents anticipating revenue growth over the next 12 months despite the ongoing impacts of inflation and high operating costs.
The survey of more than 1,000 small-business owners nationwide explores the outlook of all entrepreneurs, with specific insights on the perspectives of women, Black, Hispanic-Latino, and Asian American and Pacific Islander business owners around access to capital, work-life balance and community support, according to a news release.
The study found that economic confidence has dropped since last fall, with 34% of entrepreneurs saying they believe the national economy will improve over the next 12 months (down from 44%), and 41% believe their local economy will improve (down from 48%).
The number of small-business owners who said they plan to obtain funding for their business also dropped, going down to 77% from 83% in fall 2022.
Topping the list of primary concerns for small-business owners nationwide was inflation, with 78% of respondents saying so, followed by the U.S. political environment (67%), interest rates (65%), commodities prices (63%) and concerns over a recession (60%), according to the survey.
There was a notable drop in the number of business owners who said supply chain issues are still affecting their business, decreasing to 68% from 80% who said the same in fall 2022, while less than half of employers (46%) said labor shortages are impacting their business, a significant drop from 61%…
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