Small business owners worldwide are optimistic about the future of their businesses, says a new survey from MasterCard International. Specifically, 60% of respondents say the future outlook of their business is promising, and more than half are confident that they will meet their financial goals in 2006. Some 65% say they would tell a friend to start a small business now, rather than to wait another year.
“This research shows us that, despite mixed views on our worldwide economic outlook, small business owners feel confident their businesses will continue to succeed in the year ahead,” said Bruno Perreault, group head, global small business and mid-sized enterprises at MasterCard International.
The Role of Technology
The MasterCard International Global Small Business Survey also shows that small business owners overwhelmingly (90%) believe technology is important to their business’s future. In fact, about 80% agree that technology creates financial opportunities for businesses. Nevertheless, many small businesses are not committing a significant portion of their business budgets to technology. According to the survey, nearly 60% plan to spend only 10% or less of their business’s budget on technology upgrades, and only 21% feel their business is on the leading edge of technology for their industry.
Business Challenges
When asked to name their business’s top challenge in the next year, small business owners cited sales and business development (28%), followed by cost increases (24%) and competition (15%). Some 87% of small business owners said that it was just as difficult or more difficult to be successful this year relative to last year, and 81% said that their monthly business expenditures in the current year had increased or remained the same since last year.
When asked to forecast for next year, small business owners said payroll expenses (40%) will be their business’s greatest expense, followed by technology upgrades (19%) and capital expenditures (17%).
