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

January 19, 2017 By Gail Gardner 6 Comments

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.

Top Challenges Facing U.S. Small Businesses in 2017

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.

52% of small businesses plan to hire in 2017Click To Tweet

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.

See the State of Small Business Report highlights in the infographic below and extensive details in the full report. Click To Tweet

Table of Contents

  • Topics covered by their research include:
    • Annual WaspBarcode State of Small Business Report 2017 [Infographic]
    • State of Small Business Infographic Highlights:
    • Revenue Growth
    • Confidence in the 2017 Economy
    • Top Strategies to Drive Growth
    • Who’s hiring?
    • IT Spending in 2016
  • IT Priorities
      • Gail Gardner
      • Latest posts by Gail Gardner (see all)

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 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.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Google+ profileMy LinkedIn profileMy Pinterest profileMy Tumblr blogMy YouTube channel

Latest posts by Gail Gardner (see all)

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Filed Under: Small Business Advice Tagged With: 2017, Small Business Report, WaspBarcode

Comments

  1. Jayce Ooi says

    January 24, 2017 at 2:42 am

    Yup, totally agree with that. Every country is always almost the same stuffs here and there.

    And have a great day everyone. =)
    Jayce Ooi would love you to read ..Xiaomi Portable Mouse ReviewMy Profile

    Reply
  2. Keri Vandongen says

    January 23, 2017 at 7:12 pm

    I agree Gail -it’s interesting that hiring new employees ranked above increasing profit.
    Wonder if this was coaching advice or optimism about growth projections. Some companies outsource to other countries to bring down staffing costs.
    ~Keri

    Reply
    • Gail Gardner says

      January 27, 2017 at 11:56 am

      Hi Keri,

      I suspect this may reflect demand for marketing expertise in analytics, split testing, big data and conversion optimization. Unless you can find a way to increase conversions, the declining economies around the world are going to really hurt.

      These are skills in high demand and people in any country could do them remotely.
      Gail Gardner would love you to read ..Twitter Changes Where to Find More Tweets; BuzzSumo and ViralContentBee More Important NowMy Profile

      Reply
  3. Eren Mckay says

    January 20, 2017 at 9:54 am

    Excellent overview on the data that Wasp Barcode put together. Freelancers should pay attention to where the budget is being allocated to in order for them to invest thier time and efforts into that apsect of marketing.

    Reply
    • Gail Gardner says

      January 23, 2017 at 12:58 pm

      Thanks for taking the time to comment, Eren. Yes, we need to be aware of what clients are willing to pay for so we can ensure we are offering services they want. We can also use it to determine what to learn next.
      Gail Gardner would love you to read ..How to Create Powerful Online Courses with KajabiMy Profile

      Reply
  4. Bazaar Mantra says

    January 20, 2017 at 3:26 am

    Thoroughly,I liked your content,what a great way to present some highly valuable and complex things in a very simple way.

    Reply

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