Michael Rogers, vice president communications for the Small Business Association of Michigan (SBAM), talks with Todd McCracken, president of the National Small Business Association (SBAM’s national affiliate), about the National Small Business Association’s 2015 Year-End Economic Report.
The report shows mixed results among small business. Small-business owners expressed a less positive outlook on the overall economy, however, 75 percent are confident in their own business—the highest this indicator has been in four years. While access to capital has improved for small firms—the number of small firms able to garner financing today is at its eight-year high of 73 percent—one-in-four small firms still cannot access adequate financing. Another indicator of financial improvement is the number of firms who increased employee compensation over the last 12 months (57 percent) and those who plan to do so in the coming 12 months (60 percent), both numbers are the highest they’ve been in eight years.