Small Biz Owners Have Positive Outlook On Sales, Profits

The average small business owner’s outlook was largely positive in February, according to new data provided by Office Depot.  Indeed, the Office Depot Small Business Index found that the majority of owners thought the overall economy will improve, and an even greater number believed their particular companies will achieve greater success.

Here are all those happy stats in one chunk: Office Depot said in a statement, "Small- and medium-sized businesses expressed a positive view on the economy with better than half (56 percent) expecting it to improve and most anticipating an increase in their company’s sales and profits (70 and 67 percent, respectively)."

Then one more optimistic factoid is the finding that most small business owners (an impressive 82 percent) submit their taxes by the end of March, putting them well ahead of the IRS’s deadline and any last-minute slipups that might result in a late filing.

Not all of the information Office Depot uncovered is so happy, though.  The company said, "A majority of the respondents (80 percent) remained concerned about inflation and the difficulty in obtaining bank loans and financing (74 percent) this year.  Hiring expectations continue to be weak, as eight in ten of the small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) surveyed do not anticipate adding staff in the next six months."

A total of 1,001 small businesses were included in the survey, by the way, and the group was supposed to be nationally representative, making these results sound enough for most purposes.