Annual Small Business Saturday Event Set for November 24th

Horizon Business Solutions is encouraging small business owners and managers to advertise and take advantage of this year’s third annual Small Business Saturday event. This year the event has some special significance in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Sandy has affected hundreds of small business in the Northeast with loss of power and customers. Public transportation systems have struggled to resume operations.

Backed by corporations such as FedEx and American Express, Small Business Saturday, strategically placed between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, attracted nearly 100 million people to “shop small” in their communities in 2011, according to a survey conducted by Echo Research.

“As a consumer, you are a key part of helping small businesses thrive,” American Express says on its website. “By shopping or dining at a small business this Nov. 24, you’re showing your support for all the small companies around you. This means you could be helping local entrepreneurs offer more jobs, which in turn invigorate the economy.”

The economic outlook of small businesses was characterized by high uncertainty going into Tuesday’s election, according to a survey of 839 small business owners taken by the Small Business Monitor recently. While a majority of the entrepreneurs surveyed (59 percent) said they are feeling stressed out by the economy, that’s down from 64 percent in the same survey taken last spring. Fewer have cash flow concerns and only 20 percent feel economic conditions are the biggest barriers to growth.

The outlook for expansion is slightly improved, according to another recent survey from the National Federation of Independent Businesses. While still below historical averages, the percentage of those who view the current period as “a good time to expand” went up by three points, and the number of owners expecting an improvement in business conditions in six months went up by four points.

But still other indicators remain negative – for example, a recent Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Index report found that lending to U.S. small businesses hit its lowest level in 14 months this fall.

Horizon Business Solutions offers a variety of services to owners of small businesses, helping entrepreneurs to focus on better serving their employees, customers and communities in this time of economic uncertainty. Contact us today and we will work with you to meet your needs in areas ranging from accounting and bookkeeping to payroll and IT. Call us at (614) 577-1700 or visit our website at http://www.horizonbiz.com.

Keith Cannon | 11/14/2012

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Annual Small Business Saturday Event Set for November 24th