Small business owners are undeniably confident in their prospects for the next year, according to the first CNBC|SurveyMonkey Small Business Confidence Index.
A majority of small business owners describe current conditions for their business as “middling” (51%) or “good” (38%), and only 11% think things are “bad.” Over the course of the next 12 months, 55% of small business owners think their business’s revenue will increase and 36% think it will stay the same. Only 9% think their revenue will decrease. In the same time period, 27% of small business owners expect to increase their staff of full-time employees, and 63% think their staff levels will not change. Only 7% expect to decrease their staff in the next year.
Read more about our polling methodology here.
Click through all the results in the interactive toplines below:
Question text:
Which one of the following issues matters MOST to you right now?
Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president?
What is the most critical issue currently facing your business?
In addition to yourself, how many employees work at your small business?
Does your company generate the majority of its revenue from individual consumers or from other businesses?
Overall, would you describe current conditions for your business as good, middling or bad?
In the next 12 months, do you expect your business’s revenue to increase, stay the same, or decrease?
In the next 12 months, do you expect your business’s staff of full-time employees to increase, stay the same, or decrease?
In the next 12 months, do you expect changes in government regulations to have a negative effect, no effect, or a positive effect on your business?
In the next 12 months, do you expect changes in tax policy to have a negative effect, no effect, or a positive effect on your business?
In the next 12 months, do you expect changes in trade policy to have a negative effect, no effect, or a positive effect on your business?
In the next 12 months, do you expect changes in technological innovation to have a negative effect, no effect, or a positive effect on your business?
In the next 12 months, do you expect changes in immigration policy to have a negative effect, no effect, or a positive effect on your business?
When you have something new to share, how do you communicate with customers and potential customers? (Select all that apply) Word of mouth/Social media posts/Business website/Customer newsletter or email/Advertising on social media/Advertising on the internet/Advertising on the radio/Advertising on TV
Do you have any of the following for your business? (Select all that apply) Web page/Facebook page/Twitter account/1-800 number
About how often, if ever, do you conduct surveys of your customers?
About how much of your time at work do you spend working on innovations related to marketing, product, technology, or business expansion?
Which, if any, do you use to finance innovations related to marketing, product, technology, or business expansion? (Select all that apply.) Cash or cash equivalents/Business credit card/Loan/financing/Rewards points
*businesses
