FLORIDA SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER AT IRSC
NATIONWIDE SURVEY SAYS SMALL BUSINESS
28
OWNERS CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC
Businesses that think they
will be completely recovered
one year from now increased
to 43 percent.
— Gordon Henry, chief strategy officer at Thryv
TCBusiness.com
Small business owners nationwide are
feeling a bit better about the economy. In
fact, a growing number expect the economic
fallout brought on by COVID-19 to
be short-lived, the National Federation of
Independent Business has reported.
The NFIB’s optimism index jumped 3.5
points in May to 94.4, a strong improvement
over its April reading of 90.9. The
improvement comes after the NFIB’s
index plunged earlier this spring to levels
not seen in a decade in the wake of the
coronavirus lockdown in states across the
country. The index was running as high as
104.7 in November.
After plunging 24 points in April,
optimism over future business conditions
rose 5 points in May, with 34 percent of
business owners now expecting improved
economic conditions over the next six
months.
Small businesses continue to face a
number of challenges amid some restrictions
on business activity and ongoing
health concerns by consumers. The number
of small business owners reporting a
nominal increase in sales dropped 8 points
in May from April amid a big drop in retail
sales across the U.S. economy.
Just one in five small business owners
expects to make capital outlays over the
next several months, the NFIB reported.
That’s down from the 52 percent who
spent money over the last six months
on new equipment, vehicles, expanded
facilities, fixtures and furniture, land or
buildings.
“It’s still uncertain when consumers
will feel comfortable returning to small
businesses and begin spending again, but
owners are taking the necessary precautions
to reopen safely,” NFIB’s chief economist
Bill Dunkelberg said.
Meanwhile, a second national study
recently released was a continuing survey
by Thryv and America’s SBDC. In this study,
small businesses saw continued improvements
in demand, with those saying they
saw increases rise above 10 percent for the
first time since the study began. Despite
this, concern over a second wave remains
high with more than half (54 percent) saying
they are very or somewhat concerned.
In the Thryv-SBDC study concerning the
10th and 11th waves providing fresh survey
results, 3 in 4 persons say additional
government stimulus is needed to aid
small businesses and 41 percent say they
need $10,000 or more to continue operating
their businesses. However, the number
that said they need no additional dollars
has increased from 33 percent in Wave 10
to 46 percent in Wave 11.
Expectations that large declines would
continue is less than one-third of the level
shown in Wave 1. Currently, 16 percent
think demand will continue to decline
a lot compared to 60 percent 10 weeks
ago. Those that said there is no need to
decrease employee hours are more than
three times as high as the low point,
increasing to 37 percent from 11 percent
in Wave 2.
“Businesses that think they will be
completely recovered one year from now
increased to 43 percent,” said Gordon
Henry, chief strategy officer at Thryv. ”That
is more than twice the levels we saw at the
trough of the pandemic in waves 5 and 6,”
The vast majority of small businesses (85
percent) have been approved for their SBA
loans and nearly all (95 percent) of those
have received the funds. Among those
interviewed 57 percent say they received
more than $40,000.
“With 54 percent of small businesses
concerned with a possible second wave
and three in four businesses expressing
a need for more stimulus funds, it’s clear
that small businesses will continue to need
assistance even if all states re-open completely
over the next couple months,” said
Charles “Tee” Rowe, president and CEO at
America’s SBDC. v
BY NANCY DAHLBERG
Frank began his 48 year career in financial
and operations management serving with
the United States Air Force as an auditor.
Following his military service Fink began
his corporate work with Florida Power &
Light in their nuclear power division. After
24 years with FP&L, Fink went on to serve
with other energy companies, in their
nuclear divisions, including the Tennessee
Valley Authority, Commonwealth Edison
and Exelon Energy. Throughout his career,
Fink served in numerous financial and
operations management positions, where
his responsibilities included: business
planning, accounting and financial control
functions, business operations, strategic
planning, supply chain management,
information systems management, project
management, estimating and scheduling.
Fink holds degrees and certifications from
Indian River Community College, Barry and
Villanova University.
/TCBusiness.com
