Signs of Optimism as We Approach 2012?

The following article appears on Forbes.com by Mary Ellen Biery:

Are things getting better for small business?
After months of understandable pessimism, small business owners have caught a bit of holiday-time cheer.

Two recent surveys show improvement in the small-business outlook even as some economists are reportedly saying U.S. economic growth in the fourth quarter will be stronger than previously expected.

Meanwhile, data from Sageworks’ financial statement analysis of privately held companies shows that small businesses are seeing stronger sales growth and higher profits than last year. And a “Small Business Saturday” promotion during Thanksgiving weekend spurred an estimated 103 million shoppers at independently owned small merchants – more than the 89 million expected by promoter American Express OPEN.
Small business optimism rose for a third consecutive month, the National Federation of Independent Business said this week. The group found small but widespread improvement in forward-looking components of its Small Business Optimism Index, even though the index remains weak and below the January index reading. “After so many months of pessimism, November’s modest gain made it feel like spring, again,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “We have good reason to be optimistic about last month’s report and hopeful about what it means for the future. Still, our current reality is still very much the ongoing economic winter.

Read the complete article on Forbes!