Third Quarter 2014
Funding
In August, KCSourceLink released the We Create KC report, a baseline look at our region’s delivery on the promise of becoming American’s most entrepreneurial city. The report is organized around six imperatives for entrepreneurial growth that were identified as key areas of development in the region’s quest to nurture entrepreneurship and economic growth by local organizations. One of the imperatives is increasing available startup and growth capital. So we decided to ask our panelists if they had sought funding in the last 12 months and compared third quarter 2014 to results from November 2011.
Although the economy is gradually recovering, small business owners may still have the perception that banks are unwilling to make loans. Eleven percent of those polled assumed they couldn’t get one, but far less than 31% in 2011. This drop may be due to more counseling and educational services to assist small business in financing as well as different funding options such as microloans not readily available in 2011. Better education in managing cash flow and profit/loss projections may also contribute to the reason why, in 2014, 73% of those polled did not need bank financing as opposed to 54% in 2011.
We also asked our audience where they got funding if they didn’t use a bank. The vast majority funded their businesses from other sources.
Small business owners should look at the types of funding that are available and carefully determine the best sources of funding to suit their needs. Although funds are available to help small businesses, Maria Contreras-Sweet, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, one of the largest funders for small businesses, suggests more counseling could be the key to helping owners be more successful.
For assistance with financial consulting contact the following Resource Partners:
For questions about this survey or resources to help your small business with funding, contact us at 816-235-6500.
Panelist Expectations and Outlooks
Each quarter KCSourceLink surveys a panel of small business owners to determine their outlooks and expectations. Third quarter results were compared to the third quarter of 2013. New optimism is reflected in the responses of our panel with 85% believing next year will be better for their business as opposed to 72% of the respondents from third quarter 2013. This trend was also reflected in the sales forecast and more respondents expecting to hire new employees.