Optimism among Atlanta's small business community — dubbed by some the lifeboat to the Recession's Titanic — is on the upswing. And for good reason, if a Bank of America survey is any indication. As the AJC's Biz Beat points out, the bank surveyed 1,003 small business owners in nine target markets that included the ATL. They found that 36 percent of owners here expect to hire more staff in the next year — the biggest gain of any market since the last survey in May, and a sweeter number than the national average of 31 percent.
More good news: More than half of small business owners here expect their revenue to increase by this time next year — again, better than the national average of 54 percent. And only 19 percent have plans to apply for loans next year (how's the bank feel about that?). The businesses in question rake annual revenues between $100,000 and $5 million, with less than 100 employees. The best performers on the national stage, as tallied by Intuit Inc., are the sort of small biz's that perform professional, scientific and technical services (think: Web designers, architects, lawyers, etc.) while the construction and real estate sectors are still riding the proverbial caboose.
· Atlanta small business owners look to hire in '13 [AJC]
· Which small businesses have recovered best from recession? [Washington Post]