Is the Economy Booming for YOU?
A New York Times article published today suggests that small businesses like yours and mine may not be feeling the effects of current economic troubles, such as the subprime mess.
In “What Economic Slowdown? Small Businesses Grow Stronger” the article notes that most business owners don’t think things are so bad:
“I travel a lot and speak to a lot of small business groups,” said Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers. “What I hear is much more upbeat than what you read in the financial press. Small business owners know about the worries hanging over Wall Street. But they are doing well. Interest rates are low, the stock market is high. They can raise money. The global economy is very strong. They can expand their global reach, and they are doing it.”
My sense is that most business owners are upbeat. And all the studies and statistics suggest so.
However, you can’t deny that the collective confidence among small business owners has been slipping all year long — not precipitously, but slowly and bit by bit. For instance, the NFIB’s Optimism Index is below its historical lows and has been all year during 2007. However, the commentary to the most recent economic report by the NFIB suggests things are positive, although growth can best be described as “weak.”
So, while the economy is not nearly as gloom and doom as the cable new shows would have us believe, right now its temperature is closer to lukewarm, than sizzling.
November 12th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
[…] on my post last week pointing out how things are looking optimistic for many small business owners (Is the Economy Booming for YOU?), I carefully read the October 2007 NFIB Small Business Economic Trends report. This little […]