With unprecedented economic uncertainty in the US and UK, you would expect small businesses would be more pessimistic about the future. Yet, according to the second annual Make or Break 2017 report from Xero (NZE:XRO), small business owners are irrepressibly optimistic going into 2017. Both small business owners (79 percent) and accountants (84 percent) feel more confident about 2017 than 2016.
Make or Break 2017 Report from Xero: Highlights
The optimism was especially true for young businesses with 94 percent of one-year-old and 84 percent of two-year-old businesses saying that they felt more confident going into 2017 than they did in 2016. Over three quarters (79 percent) of small business owners professed confidence in their businesses’ survival in 2017. While nearly a fifth of businesses going through a tougher time said they expected 2017 to be a turnaround year for their business.
“I am encouraged that the second annual Make or Break report revealed that business owners are more optimistic than ever. Even when their key concern is potential economic uncertainty, the entrepreneurial spirit is one like I’ve never seen — it’s wonderful that this hasn’t been tempered but strengthened despite changes ahead.” Xero Americas president Keri Gohman said in a release introducing the report.
Even major regulatory issues seem not to dampen this optimism. For example, only 39 percent of small business owners in the U.S. believe that the Affordable Care Act will affect their business, according to the report.
What’s more, 29 percent of small business owners don’t believe that regulatory changes (ranging from employment regulations to wage compliance and immigration reform) will affect their businesses in any way.
On the other hand, U.S. accountants seem to be a lot more concerned with 60 percent believing that the Affordable Care Act will impact small businesses.
Xero took an online survey of 817 small business owners and accountants at companies with 20 employees or less in early 2017 in the U.S. and U.K. to compile its second annual Make or Break report.
Image: Xero
This article, “79 Percent of Small Business Owners Remain Confident, Xero Report Says” was first published on Small Business Trends