The Ohio unemployment rate has slowly but surely being decreasing over the last few months. Back in March the unemployment rate was at 5.1%, and in August it was 4.7%. Compared to the U.S as a whole, Ohio is just a bit better than the national average and the small business confidence seems to have increased for a couple months now. For more about this and other topics, follow the links below.
US small business confidence edges up, sales a worry
U.S. small business confidence rose marginally in September as stock market volatility raised concerns about sales growth, suggesting the economy was expanding at a moderate pace.
The National Federation of Independent Business said on Tuesday its Small Business Optimism Index gained 0.2 point to 96.1 last month. It said that level was consistent with a 2.5 percent annualized growth rate.
“Financial markets did not provide any encouragement to owners, instead providing volatility that only a trader could like. This produces uncertainty,” the NFIB said.
Seven of the index’s 10 components eked out small gains last month, while the share of small business owners expecting stronger sales volumes in the next few months fell six points.
Why Small Businesses Are Feeling An Economic Crunch
ATTN: Baby Boomer-Aged Small Business Owners
Congratulations, you’re one of the 4 million Baby Boomers who currently own and operate American companies. You deserve credit for building strong brands and reputations, for employing countless others, for providing for your families and communities, and for effectively living out the American Dream. But as strategic as you’ve been in business, you’ve likely kicked the succession-planning can down the road and continue to do so. That’s a mistake, and hopefully this gets your attention.
Basic Facts
You and your peers represent roughly 66% of all domestic businesses with employees.
You, being a member of the generation born between 1946 and 1964, began turning 65 years old in 2011 at a rate of about 10,000 people per day and will continue passing that age milestone through 2029.
In Business, Does Size Matter?
Conventional wisdom says that startups and closely held companies should be far more nimble, less bureaucratic, and less political than large corporations. But that’s more myth than reality. In the real world, small businesses are just as likely to be poorly run and dysfunctional as big enterprises. Perhaps more so.
I was just commiserating with a friend about the company where she works. “It’s hard to believe such a small firm can be so screwed up,” she said. “You’ve heard of silo mentality between departments and divisions? We have silos of like one or two people. It’s nuts.”
“Size doesn’t matter, at least not when it comes to organizational dysfunction,” I said. “There are great leaders, lousy leaders, and everything in between. Big or small, they determine how their companies function … or don’t.”
