Accounting
Survey: Economy Is Primary Concern For Business Owners
54% of Independent Business Owners Say Weak Economic Environment is #1 Concern in 2014
Jan. 07, 2014
The latest SB Authority Market Sentiment Survey from Newtek Business Services shows that going into 2014, 53% of business owners are most concerned about the effects of a weak economic environment. Of the remaining, 28% are most concerned about the Affordable Care Act, and 18% are concerned about an inability to finance their business.
The full December 2013 results showed the following:
Small business operators – for 2014, are you most concerned about the effects of the:
- Affordable Care Act: 28%
- Weak economic environment: 54%
- Inability to finance your business: 18%
“Business owners, with the employee mandate delayed, are little concerned with the Affordable Care Act in mass, except for the business owners who insured themselves and their family in the personal market,” said Barry Sloane, Chairman, President and CEO of The Small Business Authority. “The overall health of the economy was more of a concern. It will be interesting to see the results of this poll if we run it again in July, when many business owners may have their current policies cancelled as the employee mandate approaches and the Affordable Care Act affects “substandard” pre-existing small group policies.”
Newtek Business Services, Inc., The Small Business Authority, is a direct distributor of a wide range of business services and financial products to the small- and medium-sized business market under the Newtek brand. Newtek provides its services to over 100,000 business accounts. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are over 27.5 million small businesses in the United States, which in total represent 99.7% of all employer firms.