TLDR: The brighter outlook is prompting more firms to put money back into their businesses.
Small business owners’ outlooks on the economy continue to improve along with the weather, according to the results of the latest Wall Street Journal/Vistage International Small Business CEO survey. Indeed, 47 percent of the 903 small business owners and executives surveyed this month believe that the economy is doing better now than it was a year ago, up from 43 percent in February. Further, only 9 percent of small business execs now believe that economic conditions will worsen in the coming months, down from 14 percent in the February survey, and 74 percent expect sales to improve. A lot of this optimism about economic and business conditions going forward is likely due to the fact that winter has finally ended which will mean that the severe weather will no longer drag on smaller firms and consumers like it had in certain regions of the country during the past several months. Regardless, the brighter outlook implies that more companies could start reinvesting in their business, evidenced by the 46 percent of executives that said they plan to increase spending on equipment and facilities, and the 59 percent who said they expect to hire new workers. The Wall Street Journal expands, “David Kocs, a principle at TDK Technologies LLC, a technology consulting firm in St. Louis, Mo., with 100 employees, says his firm’s sales have increased by 30% compared to the same period last year, as financial firms, manufacturers and other commercial clients “loosen their wallets” and upgrade computer systems, he says. Mr. Kocs says he expects to meet year-end sales projections within the next few weeks, with revenue hitting $13.5 million by the end of the year, up from $11.7 million in 2013. “We’re very encouraged,” he adds. Ira Holtzman, the owner of Lower Electric LLC, an energy broker in Northbrook, Ill., with 18 employees, says revenue is already up about 15% over last year. He says the colder winter helped the firm, by raising awareness about local utility prices. But, he adds, the so-called “polar vortex” was a double-edged sword, since many of its 3,000 commercial clients, including banks, schools and nursing homes, saw energy prices rise sharply. He plans to hire a few new workers and invest in updated software in the months ahead: “We’re willing to put some money back into the business. It’s a good time to grow,” he says. Richard Curtin, a University of Michigan researcher who analyzed the March results, said the latest results seem to illustrate that small firms have shaken off their past uncertainties over federal policies, which dogged their confidence in the economy last year. Now, they seem to be looking ahead to a speedier economic recovery…”
