Small Business Leaders Say Economy, Healthcare Should Be Top Priorities

The leaders of America’s small- and mid-sized businesses work long hours, worry about keeping up with the latest technology and aren’t sure whether they should be concerned about the future supply of skilled workers. A new survey shows they also think the economy and healthcare reform are the nation’s most pressing problems.

The inaugural “UPS Business Monitor – United States,” a survey sponsored by UPS and conducted by the marketing insight firm TNS, interviewed 600 managers and owners of small- and mid-sized enterprises (SME) around the country. The Monitor’s first report earlier this month focused on business and trade issues, finding most SMEs have failed to explore sales opportunities outside the United States.

The latest results focus on technology and political issues. More than half of those surveyed want to see stricter immigration laws – even though they say such laws wouldn’t have much impact on their own business. Almost 40 pct say they believe the shift in congressional control to the Democrats will have a “negative impact” on their business. Those surveyed also said they don’t think America’s image in the world would be helped much by electing either a woman or African-American president.

And while they’re bullish on their own individual businesses, only one-third say they expect to add more employees over the coming year.

“Earlier, we reported initial results showing these SME leaders really are ignoring global trade opportunities,” said David Abney, UPS’s chief operating officer. “They continue to focus on growing their businesses only within the United States. Nonetheless, these latest results show a huge majority (88 pct) expect to at least maintain or grow their current business over the coming year, which is good news for the U.S. economy. And as these SMEs grow and proliferate, so does their political clout, which is why we also asked a series of political questions.”

Among the findings of the wide-ranging survey:

– SME decision-makers work an average of 53 hours a week, with one-third (34 pct) working 60 hours or more.
– Some 59 pct say their top technology worry is just keeping up with the pace of technological change, although 53 pct also worry about Internet security breaches.
– Cell phones are clearly considered the most-needed technology device.
– The respondents are evenly split – 49 pct ‘no,’ 46 pct ‘yes’ – when asked if they expect difficulty in the future finding skilled employees.