While consumer confidence has been up recently, the same can’t necessarily be said for small-business owners, if a survey from the messaging service Slack is any indication.
The survey found that some 40% of small-business owners think 2024 will be a “make or break” year for them, and nearly a third aren’t sure they’ll make it through the year.
After years of dealing with the financial impact of the pandemic, rising inflation and a job market, some 32% of respondents aren’t sure they’ll make it through 2024.
Others are a little more optimistic – 71% said they are optimistic about the state of their business this year. But, as the Associated Press reported, many are still facing tough issues like a volatile economy, a polarizing election on the horizon and declining sales.
Some 38% of small business owners said they’re more worried about their business as they enter 2024 than they were as 2023 started, the AP reported. And only 26% are less worried.
According to the survey, almost three quarters of business owners said they’re taking steps to help improve their business. About half of the respondents said they’re expanding marketing efforts to bring in new customers, 45% said they’re setting money aside for emergency use, and 43% said they’re exploring new technologies to increase productivity and efficiency.
“The state of small businesses in 2024 reflects a clear desire to maximize efficiency with limited resources,” Jaime DeLanghe, vice president of product management at Slack, said in the AP report.
The survey included 2,000 small business owners — half of them in the tech or retail industries.
