By Rieva Lesonsky
How confident are you feeling about your startup business’s chances—or your startup idea’s chances (if you haven’t launched yet)? If you’re like most entrepreneurs these days, you’re feeling pretty optimistic, reports the latest Kauffman/LegalZoom Startup Confidence Index survey of startup entrepreneurs’ attitudes.
Some 83 percent of startup business owners in the survey are confident their profits will increase over the next 12 months. Among entrepreneurs aged 18 to 30 years old, the optimism is even greater, with 93 percent feeling confident or very confident that their businesses will become more profitable in the next 12 months.
Entrepreneurs are also feeling more optimistic about consumer demand, with 45 percent saying they expect a moderate to significant increase in consumer demand in the next 12 months – up 10 percent from the third-quarter survey.
Those feelings are translating into action, with 40 percent of startup owners saying they plan to hire additional employees in the next 12 months, a 10 percent increase from the third-quarter survey. In addition, 16 percent of small business owners applied for loans or lines of credit in the past year, and the number whose loans were approved increased by 14 percent compared to the previous quarter.
Of course, this survey polled startups who have already gotten their ideas off the ground. But if you’re still on the fence about starting your own business, consider this rising optimism a sign of the times. As more companies gain confidence, invest more in their businesses and take steps toward growth, don’t you want to be part of that mix?
Follow @Rieva
Follow @SmBizDaily
