Focus of Arizona small business

It’s Small Business Week and a Bank of America Report shows that 59 percent of small business owners expect revenue to increase in the year ahead.

The Bank of America Spring 2019 Small Business Owner Report surveyed small business owners throughout the nation to determine their concerns, confidence, outlook, preparation for the future and more.

So, what are small business owners in Arizona focused on?

“While small business owners in other parts of the U.S. are beginning to feel less confident about the economy and are adjusting some of their growth plans accordingly, our small business clients across Arizona continue to be a bit more bullish with the region’s economy,” said Lynn Searles, Arizona small business banking executive, Bank of America.  

She said, “This optimism is reflected in continued demand for growth capital and our bankers doing more strategic advisement with clients than in recent years.  We expect this momentum to continue as the state’s diversified industries continue strong.”

The report shows that 51 percent believe their local economy will improve over the next 12 months. In fall 2018, 54 percent had the same belief.

John Kobierowski, ABI Multifamily managing partner and Neighborhood Ventures co-founder, explained that he is confident in Arizona’s economy.

“Being in Arizona gives me a little bit of a different view. I’m confident in the business we’re in and we’re paying it forward by hiring employees right now and trying to hire faster than usual,”  Kobierowski said. “If we can find the people now, let’s bring them in.”

ABI Multifamily is a brokerage and advisory services firm. It has 19 employees and 41 independent contractors. Neighborhood Ventures is a real estate crowdfunding company and has five employees.

With his economic confidence, Kobierowski is also investing in equipment and other resources that will help him and his employees do business.

Arizona employers consider cost of health care and other economic concerns as they grow and hire more employees.

Kobierowski said it is important to carefully navigate through the health care and other benefits his businesses can provide.

“That also ties into trying to attract and retain employees with what benefits and health care we can offer. Those are some of the top concerns,” he said.

According to the report, health care costs is the top economic concern of 66 percent of small business owners. Concerns over the political environment follows close behind at 65 percent.

Kobierowski explained the next few years will see growth despite inevitable economic concerns.

“The next few years for us, we’re going to continue to have growth and want to add more people to a few areas. We want to employ more technology in places that help us scale what we’re doing already and allow us to grow a predictable system,” he said.

The report found that technology is a high-demand across the nation.

49 percent of small business owners use a technology platform, tool or app to manage tax accounting. 46 percent use technology to manage payment processing and 45 percent use it for payroll.