LANSING ? Last winter?s holiday season brought few signs of cheer for Michigan?s small business economy. The Small Business Association of Michigan?s latest quarterly Small Business Barometer survey finds that only 28 percent of small business owners report sales increases during the 2004 holiday season.
During the boom years of the late ?90s, it was common for 35-40 percent of small businesses to have sales increases during the holidays.
Twelve percent of employers cut the size of their workforce in the last quarter; 7 percent hired more workers. Fifteen percent of small businesses give a negative rating to Michigan as a marketplace for goods and services ? the highest negative rating in the history of the Barometer. Likewise, only 55 percent give a positive rating to the Michigan marketplace ? near an all-time low.
?As public policy experts search for solutions to our economic doldrums, we hope they take note of another significant finding from our latest survey: 73 percent of small business owners think there is too much business taxation,? said SBAM Vice President Communications Michael Rogers. ?Michigan?s economy needs to be positioned for a competitive future. It?s crucially important that small business tax reform does not crash-and-burn during this legislative session.?
As always, forward-looking entrepreneurs are optimistic about expected business performance over the next year. Sixty-one percent of those surveyed believe sales will increase. Twenty-nine percent expect to boost investments and 28 percent plan to hire more employees.
The quarterly Barometer survey is sponsored by SBAM with the participation and support of the Center for Urban Studies of Wayne State University. The survey was conducted by Public Policy Associates of Lansing.
For more on information, click on SBAM.Org
