Despite battling daunting conditions not seen since the Great Depression, small businesses in the USA continue to adapt and succeed. As the last six months or so have thrown up roadblock after roadblock, American small businesses continue to mount their rally and press forward and have recently finished out the third quarter with extreme optimism. In recent survey research conducted by Survey Monkey, in conjunction with television network CNBC, their findings have proven that small business continues to make great strides forward. The following is taken directly from their third quarter survey and published at CNBC:
- Each quarter, CNBC and SurveyMonkey poll over 2,000 small business owners aiming to measure the vitality of the American economy. The CNBC/SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey was conducted using SurveyMonkey’s online platform from July 20-27, 2020 among a national sample of 2,040 self-identified small business owners ages 18 and up. This quarter, we also reached 9,510 individuals who do not own small businesses.
- A majority of small business owners (64%) now say they can continue operating under current conditions for more than a year, exactly double the number for whom that was true three months ago (32%).
- Nearly a quarter of small business owners (24%) who had to layoff or furlough employees because of the shutdowns in March/April, say they’ve hired all of their employees back. 34% say they have hired some employees back and 15% say they have not brought anyone back and do not expect to.
- More than half (54%) of small business owners say their business has had unforeseen costs associated with new coronavirus-related safety measures, but only 9% say they are passing those costs on to customers via higher prices or fees.
- “These latest results offer a glimmer of optimism from the small business world,” says Jon Cohen, chief research officer at SurveyMonkey. “Even as seven in 10 small business owners say the pandemic has caused permanent changes in the way they operate, nearly as many of those who made it through the first throes of the crisis express confidence they can survive for a year or more. For many on Main Street, the strong sense is they’ve made it through a paradigmatic shift.”
-Written by Kevin Sawyer
