More than three quarters of U.S. small business owners believe that their company is equipped to handle any upcoming economic instability, according to a new poll.
The new survey of 1,000 small business owners revealed that increased interest rates and inflation are their top economic concerns for the remainder of 2023.
But despite those economic concerns, 72% of small business owners feel more optimistic now about the financial prospects of their company than they did at the beginning of the year.
The entrepreneurs have tapped into various financial resources to cope with the economic changes, including savings accounts and loans (61%) and raising prices (50%).
Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Melio, the random double-opt-in survey found that 48% of those surveyed (which included a statistically significant amount of African Americans, Hispanic/Latinos, and women small business owners) have raised their prices by an average of 7% over the last six months.
But they are still reporting an increase in repeat business (66%), sales (63%) and number of new clients (56%).
Having an online presence is more important to small businesses than it used to be, which led to some of the changes made this year: 66% of respondents have increased their advertising and marketing efforts, 58% increased their digital presence, and more than half started selling products online.
“Small businesses are the foundation of the economy,” said Tomer Barel, Melio’s president and COO. “And, despite the challenges posed by inflation and interest rates, small business owners seem to adapt and demonstrate impressive agility and resilience.”
Beyond the importance of digitizing aspects of their businesses—like, inventory management (51%) and customer service (42%)—three-quarters feel that it is most imperative to accept forms of payment beyond cash—more than it used to be.
CORPORATE GENEROSITY: Apple Committed $2.5 Billion to Build Affordable Housing and Thousands of Units Have Already been Built
“Since the pandemic began over three years ago, small businesses are embracing new technologies that can help them take control over their finances and weather economic uncertainty,” said Melio’s CBO Prashant Gandhi.