WASHINGTON - This week, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) released its September 2018 Small Business Optimism Index, which reports continued business optimism, and recorded the third highest level in the survey’s history. The September 2018 NFIB survey revealed: 37 percent of owners reported compensation increases, which set a new record. 61 percent of owners reported hiring or trying to hire. 29 percent of owners are expecting higher real sales volumes. Actual capital spend...
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WASHINGTON – This week, President Trump signed S. 791, the Small Business Innovation Protection Act of 2017, into law. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation is the Senate companion bill to H.R. 2655, which passed the House in July and was led by Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). The Small Business Innovation Protection Act will expand intellectual property education and training for small businesses by establishing a partnership between the United States Small Business...
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WASHINGTON – This week, House Committee on Small Business Chairman Steve Chabot (R-OH) wrote an op-ed for the Cincinnati Enquirer on how the opioid crisis is affecting small businesses and how the Committee is addressing this important issue. “... According to a survey by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), small business optimism is at a 45-year high. But they have also expressed concern over a new problem: a lack of qualified workers. “While this may be due to a number of d...
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WASHINGTON – According to a recent report from the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School and Dun & Bradstreet Q3 2018 Private Capital Access Index, small businesses are finding it easier to acquire capital. More specifically, 53 percent of the small businesses surveyed said they were successful in securing a loan in the past three months. “Access to capital is critical for small businesses to start and grow their companies. This new report is yet more proof that the economic climate, due to fewer...
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WASHINGTON – Last week, the House Committee on Small Business held a full committee hearing on how the opioid crisis is affecting small business, specifically the decline in the labor force participation rate. The discussion included Katie Van Dyke, Director of Cleveland State University’s Ohio Small Business Development Center, as outlined by Cleveland.com below: “The opioid crisis poses major challenges to small businesses in Ohio as employers in rural and urban areas alike have trouble findin...
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WASHINGTON – According to a new study by Bank of America, women entrepreneurs are optimistic about their future. More specifically, 58 percent of women surveyed believe their revenues will increase next year, up from 44 percent last year. Meanwhile, more than half of women business owners plan to grow their company in the next five years, while 21 percent plan on hiring more workers. “Every week it seems there is a new survey showing that small business owners are optimistic about their company,...
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WASHINGTON – This week, the Small Business Administration (SBA) Great Lakes Regional Administrator Rob Scott wrote an op-ed for the Pike County News Watchman sharing how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has directly benefited the almost one million small businesses in Ohio. “Thanks to the recent federal tax cut, local business owners are making investments in their businesses and employees by raising wages, increasing benefits and purchasing equipment to grow their businesses and create new jobs. The o...
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WASHINGTON – Recently, the President signed into law the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019, which included several small business provisions. “Our nation demands a vital small business industrial base: it is fundamental to the health of our nation as a whole. I am grateful to the House Armed Services Committee for working with the Small Business Committee and I look forward to continuing that relationship to ensure that small businesses provide the Dep...
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WASHINGTON - Last week, U.S. Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon wrote an op-ed in the Cincinnati Enquirer to highlight the monumental impact the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is having on local small businesses after hosting a small business roundtable on July 27 with the House Committee on Small Business Chairman Steve Chabot (R-OH) in Cincinnati, Ohio. "When I visited Cincinnati in September of last year, small business owners who joined a roundtable I hosted were clear on one thing – taxes we...
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WASHINGTON – This week, Wells Fargo/Gallup released a survey touting the record-high optimism U.S. small business owners’ are experiencing, the highest in 15 years. According to the report: Cash flow and positive financial situation are strong drivers of optimism. 78 percent of small business owners rate their current financial situation as very or somewhat good, compared with 73 percent in the second quarter of 2018. 69 percent of small business owners rate their cash flow in the past 12 months...
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