Highlights:
- Small business sentiment is an important economic and political indicator
- Womply surveyed thousands of small businesses in all 50 states to see what’s driving optimism and pessimism, and what it means big picture
- Check out our full report, and check back later for individual state profiles
If you want to know where the country is heading, there may be no better indicator than sentiment among the country’s 28 million small business owners. Main Street entrepreneurs have a ground-level view of how economic, political, and policy factors affect the average American. So, as the U.S. enters a period of political and economic change and uncertainty, we ought to keep a finger on the pulse of American small business.
Accordingly, Womply recently surveyed thousands of small business owners in all 50 states to create a new report about what small business sentiment means for the economy and politics in 2017. The full report (published below) reveals:
- What’s driving optimism and pessimism for small business owners.
- How small business confidence (or lack thereof) might translate into actions like hiring, employee raises, and expansion this year.
- The issues keeping small business owners up at night.
- How the election of Donald Trump as the 45th U.S. president impacts small businesses.
- The policy and political issues most impactful to local businesses across the country.
Confidence makes the economy go ‘round, and we’re not the only ones interested in the mindset of Main Street entrepreneurs. The National Federation of Independent Business publishes a monthly small business optimism index, and Bank of America has its Small Business Owner Report. Our study is designed to dive deep and uncover what’s happening under the surface to promote optimism or pessimism, and what it means for larger economic trends like employment and business expansion.
We’ll also be rolling out small business sentiment profiles for individual U.S. states, starting with California, which ranks 35th nationally for small business optimism and 28th for hiring intent.