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Small business owners, to a certain degree, are a happy lot these days, according to the spring American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor survey.
Survey results include:
A majority of entrepreneurs, 61%, plan to take at least one full week off this summer — the highest tally since 2006, when 67% planned to bust loose from work for a week. Summer vacation plans for 2016 also nudged up from 59% in 2015 and 60% in 2014;
Overall, fewer small business owners are taking home a salary, from 57% in spring 2015 to 51% this spring. But entrepreneurs who do pay themselves are generous: The average salary, the survey shows, is up $2,310 over last year;
More than eight of 10 respondents, 84%, “see the glass as half full” for the future of their business and the economy;
The percentage of business owners who plan to hire employees over the next six months, 39%, is up from 34% in 2015. At nearly four in 10, it's the highest expected employee growth rate since the recession, the survey reports.
The nationwide survey, of more than 700 business owners of companies with 100 employees or less, also asked small business owners what factors will influence their votes in the November presidential election. The economy took first place, at 32%, followed by tax policy and health care, with 16% each category, and then immigration, at 6%.
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