Florida Small Business Owners Increasingly Optimistic on Growth

South Florida small business owners are more optimistic than their counterparts nationwide, a survey released Thursday by Bank of America found.

Fifty-five percent of Miami-area small business owners plan to hire more employees in the next twelve months, a 19 percent hike from six months ago, and up slightly from the national average of 51 percent, according to the fall 2014 Small Business Owner Report, a semi-annual study exploring the concerns of small business owners in South Florida and around the country.

In the survey of 300 business owners in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, 68 percent predicted their revenue will increase in the next year, compared to 54 percent in the spring. About 78 percent expect their business to grow in the next five years, a dramatic increase from six months ago when half said they would grow, and significantly higher than the national average (67 percent). And 83 percent expect to hit their year-end revenue goals, slightly higher than the 77 percent nationally.