Despite an ailing economy, local business owners are optimistic about the year ahead, according to the results of a recent survey from the Entrepreneurs’ Organization.
The results, gleaned using a sample of more than 1,500 entrepreneurs worldwide, frequently indicate that Columbus area business owners have had, and are predicting, better business outcomes than their counterparts elsewhere.
“Based on the data we collected, we can see that the entrepreneurial community’s feeling about the economy are on par with the general consensus,” says Sally Ernst, the survey’s lead researcher. “What is very interesting to note, however, is that entrepreneurs worldwide continue to create jobs and have reported an increase in both revenues and profitability. In fact, numbers around hiring and profits are even higher than they were when we surveyed the same population a year ago. This is a very encouraging sign coming from the backbone of the economy.”
Seventy-two percent of the Columbus entrepreneurs surveyed foresee an increase in the number of full-time workers they will employ during the next six months versus just 66 percent of global respondents predicting an increase.
Further, 74 percent of Columbus respondents report an increase in net profit during the past six months; only 62 percent of global respondents report an increase.
Additionally, 78 percent of Columbus respondents predict a jump in net profit during the six months ahead, while 74 percent of global respondents predict a jump.
Conducted twice a year, the survey comprises data gathered from region-specific reports for the United States, Europe/the Middle East, Asia/the Pacific, India/Nepal, Canada and Latin America/the Caribbean.
