Category: small business

Small Business Survey Reveals Ample Signs of Stagflation: Economist

Some inflation watchers have been on the lookout for signs of peak inflation, anticipating that the U.S. consumer price index will finally begin to trend lower after soaring to a fresh 40-year high in March. The latest data, however, has disappointed them. A recent small business survey and sky-high wholesale prices “telegraphed higher-for-longer inflation in…


To Compete With China, the US Needs More Entrepreneurs

Commentary Entrepreneurs grease the wheels of economic growth. They create new products and services. They create new jobs. Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of economies. Of course, one cannot discuss economies without discussing the United States and China. Obviously, the United States offers a more favorable environment to its entrepreneurs than China, a country known for…


Need a Business Idea? Here Are 55.

The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.   To start one of these home-based businesses, you don’t need a lot of funding — just energy, passion and the drive to succeed. This article has been excerpted from 55 Surefire Home Based Businesses You Can Start for Under $5,000 and other great resource books published by Entrepreneur Press. Looking to…


BC’s Minimum Wage Increase Will Lead to Labour Cuts, Higher Prices, Small Businesses Warn

VANCOUVER—As labour groups praise the B.C. government for pushing the minimum wage up from $15.20 to $15.65 an hour, small businesses say the move will lead to unintended consequences, including cuts to their workforce and further price jumps for consumers amid rising inflation. “It’s been very difficult especially in an environment where the margins are…


Small Businesses Continue to Struggle: Fed Survey

Small businesses in the United States are going through hard times, struggling to generate revenue and in poor financial condition after more than two years since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, reveals a report jointly published by 12 Federal Banks. “Many small businesses have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, in terms of both revenue and…


US Small Business Sentiment Drops to 11-Month Low: NFIB

WASHINGTON—U.S. small business confidence fell to an 11-month low in January amid persistent worker shortages and higher prices for materials, a survey showed on Tuesday. The National Federation of Independent Business said its Small Business Optimism Index dropped 1.8 points to 97.1 last month, the lowest reading since February 2021. Scarce workers and rising labor…


Interest Rate Rise to Put Extra Pressure on Struggling Australian Businesses

Small businesses across Australia would have to endure extra pressure after a tough start to 2022 due to the Omicron variant if banks raise their interest rates, CreditorWatch found. The Australian credit reporting agency said that the latest results of its monthly business risk index projected a gloomy prospect for the business community and suggested…


Two Australian States Announce Small Business Support Funds

The Australian states of Tasmania and Victoria have announced funding to support the recovery of local, small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Tasmanian Minister for State Growth Roger Jaensch announced on Jan. 28 that more funding will be made available to the state’s COVID-19 Business Impact Support Program for small businesses. The program, which…


Three-Quarters of Small Businesses Hurt by High Inflation: Survey

A new survey by Goldman Sachs paints a picture of U.S. small businesses struggling under the weight of surging prices, hiring woes, supply chain dislocations, and an Omicron-driven fourth wave of infections. The survey, released on Jan. 24 and based on a poll of 1,466 small businesses, shows that 76 percent of respondents said inflation…


Inflation Fears Among Small Business Owners at Highest Level In 40 Years

Inflation fears among small business owners have risen to their highest level in four decades as owners remain broadly pessimistic about future economic conditions, according to the latest monthly poll from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The NFIB’s small business economic survey (pdf), released Jan. 11, shows that 22 percent of small business owners…