This latest report is based on responses from 5,703 randomly selected small business owners polled from 12/31/22 to 1/19/23, along with past data gathered from 690,000 other SMB owners since March 2020.
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Small Business Owners Are Optimistic About 2023
Here are a few other key statistics:
- 56% say they’re more optimistic about their business success now than in Jan. 2022.
- While small business owners say inflation’s still their No. 1 concern, the percentage of those worried about it has declined from 32% to 30% in the past month. And those saying they don’t have any major financial concerns jumped to 20% in Jan., up five percentage points from just 15% in Dec.
- The cost of supplies also has declined. In December, 40% of SMB owners told us supplies were 25% or higher compared to pre-COVID prices. But that percentage dropped to 34% this month.
- But the news is not all good, unfortunately. While 45% said customer counts are up for them, only 38% said they’re generating as much revenue monthly as they did prior to COVID. So, there’s still a long way to go before we can say most businesses have bounced back.
- In fact, SMB owners estimate it will take at least until Q1 2024 for most small businesses to fully recover to pre-COVID revenue levels.
- And while optimism is higher than usual right now, 56% also say they fear a recession could hit this year, which would bring more economic trouble.
