Small business owners grow more pessimistic of the U.S. economy

3/30/2011

While the United States government has been touting new policies that are designed to help small businesses acquire commercial loans, many entrepreneurs are growing increasingly pessimistic of the overall economic climate, according to a new report from Discover Financial Services.

More than half of respondents (54 percent) said they believe the American economy is growing worse, which is up considerably from the 41 percent who said this in February. Only a shade more than one-quarter (27 percent) said they believed conditions were improving.

"Our surveys have shown that the economic events of the recent past have hit small businesses hard, and many are still struggling to sustain an individual recovery of their own," said Ryan Scully, director of Discover's business credit card. "Nearly a third of small business owners told us they have contemplated going out of business sometime during the past two months, which is up from spring of 2008."

If businesses are struggling to make due in today's economy, they may want to consider adjusting their approach to operations. They could begin focusing on new markets or emphasizing different products, for example.