A recent survey showed that today’s entrepreneurs are either cocky or confident — perhaps both — but are definitely optimistic about making money with their current businesses.
The newest Kauffman/LegalZoom Startup Confidence Index, which debuted in the first quarter of last year, found that 85 percent of polled entrepreneurs are “confident or very confident” that their businesses will be more profitable in the next 12 months. That’s the highest amount of faith since the survey began last year.
The youth appear to be the most optimistic, with 93 percent of 18-to-30 year-olds expecting to see profits climb in the next year. That’s actually down from 96 percent in the first quarter of 2013.
About 91 percent of 31-to-40 year olds think the same, while 76 percent of owners 60 years or older are confident in better profits for the next year.
Other data points:
- 74 percent of entrepreneurs think the economy will improve or stay the same in the next year, up from 64 percent last quarter
- 49 percent of entrepreneurs believe consumer demand will increase “moderately to significantly” in the next year, up from 44 percent last quarter
- 37 percent plan to hire employees in the next year, up five percent from last quarter. Nearly 70 percent say they’ll have six or more employees within the next five years.
The survey was based on 1,742 responses from entrepreneurs across the country, 87 percent of which have just one-to-four employees at their business.
