Top Challenges Facing U.S. Small Businesses in 2017 [Infographic]

WaspBarcode has published their annual State of Small Business Report for 2017. This is their third annual survey analysis of over 1,100 small business owners and executive leaders across a number of fields. See the full report with visuals at the link above.

Small businesses are more optimistic going into 2017 and expanding hiring and marketing spend. I am highlighting the above image from their research because businesses are making their plans now.

I find it interesting that hiring new employees ranked above increasing profit, employee healthcare and growing revenue. This could indicate a shortage of digital marketing experts or workers with other specialized skills. I wish we had more details about what kind of new employees they are concerned about.

Topics covered by their research include:

• Revenue Expectations for 2017
• Strategies to Improve Revenue Growth
• Employee and Staffing Plans
• How much they invest in marketing and where they spend it
• Inventory and Asset Management

Annual WaspBarcode State of Small Business Report 2017 [Infographic]

State of Small Business Infographic Highlights:

Revenue Growth

• 69% of SMBs predict revenue growth during 2017
• 31% of SMBs predict revenue growth of 1-4%
• 26% of SMBs predict revenue growth of 5-10%
• 12% of SMBs predict revenue growth of 11% or more

Confidence in the 2017 Economy

• 42% of companies with 11-50 employees believe the economy is better now than in 2016
• 39% of companies with 51-100 employees believe this
• 47% of the largest small businesses with 101-500 employees are confident in the 2017 economy

Top Strategies to Drive Growth

40% improve customer experience and retention
36% launch new products or services
32% invest in new customer acquisition
30% expand into new markets

Who’s hiring?

52% of all SMBs plan to hire in 2017
57% plan to hire 1-5 employees
39% plan to hire 6 or more employees

IT Spending in 2016

42% of all smbs plan to increase IT spending
36% of companies with 5-10 employees plan IT spending increases
42% of businesses with 11-50 employees
54% of businesses with 51-100 employees
49% of businesses with 101-499 employees

IT Priorities

29% upgrade wireless infrastructure
33% upgrade network
33% upgrade server infrastructure
37% upgrade network security
38% replace computer hardware

Their full research is worth reviewing. You can see their post summarizing the report and review the full report here. There is no cost and you don’t have to provide any personal information.

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Gail Gardner

Small Business Marketing Strategist at GrowMap

Gail Gardner is the founder of GrowMap.com. She is a Small Business Marketing Strategist who mentors small businesses, bloggers, and freelancers. After 23 years in the field with IBM and 5.5 years managing AdWords accounts, her focus shifted to small business marketing strategy. GrowMap.com is listed by Cision as a Top 100 Site for Marketers and has received three Small Business Influencer Awards from Small Business Trends. Named by D&B a Top 50 SMB Influencer on Twitter, you can follow Gail @GrowMap and on LinkedIn.

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