Highlights:
- 83% of Missouri small businesses are optimistic about prospects
- 24% plan to hire this year
- Top worries include taxes and healthcare
Missouri ranks #2 nationally for small business optimism with 18 optimistic small business owners for every pessimistic one, according to a new national study by Womply. Fully 83% of Missouri’s local business owners are optimistic about prospects, trailing only the 85% mark for merchants in neighboring Kansas, which topped our national optimism ranking.
Correlation isn’t causation, but it’s possible Donald Trump’s election is spurring optimism in the Show Me State. Our study found that Trump’s election is having an outsized impact on small business optimism (and pessimism as well), and Trump’s electoral victory in Missouri included support from 56% of the state’s small business owners.
In fact, two of Missouri owners’ top worries, taxes and health insurance, have been major policy priorities in Trump’s early administration, albeit accompanied by uncertainty and political turmoil. Regardless, entrepreneurial confidence is driving solid hiring intentions, with 24% of Missouri small businesses planning to add staff this year (ranking #20 nationally).
Our study also revealed how Missouri small business owners prioritize key policy concerns that affect small business, including their thoughts on Obamacare repeal. Read the full report below.
