Business owners are feeling 14 percent better about the future today than two years ago, and no wonder: they are enjoying stronger financial results and expect them to be even more robust next year.
That's the word from Principal Financial Group's Well-Being Index, which found that a whopping 88 percent of the 600 owners surveyed reported their businesses were either stable or growing.
In 2012, the Well-Being Index respondents weren't nearly so bullish. Just a quarter of them said they were optimistic about the 2013 economy. This year, 40 percent expressed optimism for 2015, 53 percent said their financials were in better shape than a year ago, and 71 percent reported having surplus business capital, up from 62 percent last time around.
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Things are better at home, as well, for businesses employing between 10 and 500 people. Asked to describe their personal financial health, 75 percent said they were in good shape, up 4 percentage points from a year ago.
"With a positive outlook for the future of their businesses, almost half (46 percent) of business owners are reinvesting profits back into their companies to help secure the future of their businesses," The Principal said in a release. "Additionally, some business owners are safeguarding their companies' futures by enhancing their firms' technology (37 percent), or taking steps to protect their businesses from unexpected losses (36 percent)."
These folks are on a hiring spree as well, with 41 percent reporting that they added full-time staff in the past year and 41 percent indicating they would add to staff in 2015. Top reasons cited for adding to staff:
- Increased customer demand (37 percent);
- High volumes of business (36 percent);
- Confidence in future growth (31 percent).
Once they've brought on new talent, said 43 percent of respondents, they're crafting strategies to retain their workforce gems.
"In order to keep employees loyal, happy, and healthy, 33 percent of business owners reported providing competitive benefit packages. More business owners plan to add employee benefits in the next 12 months, with 22 percent of respondents pledging to offer additional employee benefits next year, up from only 16 percent in 2013," The Principal said.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
