The latest on the small business market. 

First Citizens Bank conducted their third annual Small Business Forecast, learning about the small business landscape in each market. Here are some of the results:

Do millennial entrepreneurs feel like there’s room to grow?

Overwhelmingly yes. 82% of millennials expect to grow their business in the next 6-12 months.

What’s having the biggest impact on the future of small businesses?

58% of skilled trade business owners plan to hire more employees.

42% of those same skilled trade small business owners plan to grow by adding new products and services.

How valuable is social media to your business, really?

49% of respondents now view social media as a top resource to learn about small business.

Where does the economy come into play?

68% of respondents are optimistic or very optimistic about economic conditions in the next 2-3 years.

What kind of unexpected perks are your peers finding?

50% said they feel a big sense of accomplishment for what they’ve achieved.

47% said while it’s a lot of work, it’s also a lot of fun.

39% developed skills they didn’t even know they had.

42% said they’d never want to go back to working for someone else.

Website Performance vs. Social Media Performance, how do they stack up?

Lead generation from social media channels is almost neck and neck with those stemming from a business website (60% vs 64%). See sales climb with cross-promotion.

First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company [US] Small Business Forecast. Full Report.

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While people feel good about the economy over the next 2-3 years it’s usually because it’s going well now and people anchor to their latest experience – Pivotal Performance Processes has a process that tests the ability of businesses to withstand significant changes – either up or down.