Changes

Numerous reports have cited that small businesses have plans to expand within the next year. An analysis conducted by the Wallstreet Journal in January 2016, highlights fifty-four percent of small businesses surveyed say they expect their employee base to increase. Twenty-seven percent of businesses interviewed for a New York Federal Reserve report, detail plans to increase their full time staff within the next year. A report in February 2016 by the National Federation of Independent businesses however, documents forty-two percent of small business have encountered obstacles in identifying qualified applicants for open positions. Similarly, survey results indicate that numerous businesses have expectations to increase profitability and/or sales revenue, while a complimentary majority cite difficulty in attracting customers and identifying new markets. To summarize the current state of affairs, it appears that small businesses share a desire to expand both financially and physically, but face disparities in realizing that goal. This therefore prompts the question: How should small businesses go about achieving affective and meaningful growth?

-Since the financial crisis of 2008, small business owners have encountered obstacles in accessing traditional sources of capital.