Highlights:
- 50% of Minnesota merchants are “very optimistic”
- 31% plan to add staff this year
- Optimism is coming from good customers
In Minnesota, small business sentiment looks very different depending on how you look at the numbers. If you look at the ratio of optimistic merchants compared to pessimistic ones, the Gopher State ranks #32 nationally with 4 optimists for every pessimist. Nothing to write home about.
If you look at the number of local business owners who are extremely enthusiastic, however, you see a much different picture. Fully 50% of Minnesota business owners say they are “very optimistic” about business prospects in 2017, much higher than the national average of 35% and one of the highest marks nationwide, according to Womply’s recent survey of thousands of small business owners nationwide.
With so many people bullish on small business, it makes sense that Minnesota ranks #5 nationally for hiring intent among local merchants. When business is good, you feel more confident in making investments to grow the company and add staff to take some of the pressure off of yourself and your other employees. If confidence stays high, the state’s economy could really benefit from the 31% of local business owners who said they plan to add jobs in 2017.
So, what could derail optimism? We asked respondents to rank their top worries, and in Minnesota, attracting customers topped the list. When we looked at the reasons optimistic merchants are, well, optimistic, we see again that good customers is the top response. In Minnesota, the customer is everything for local businesses.
Read our full report below.
