“Because it is paramount for small business decision makers to set goals and identify key factors of success and growth to determine future business initiatives, we went about exploring the state of other small businesses,” said Alex Price, general manager, Wasp Barcode Technologies. “However, we found there weren’t any hard numbers or statistics to answer questions we were asking ourselves. There was clearly a gaping hole when it came to small business strategic initiatives and future planning; as such, we created the small business survey and report to provide answers and predictions for the future of the small business market.”

After consulting with industry peers and experts, Wasp developed a study after collecting data directly from other, practicing small business owners and executives. According to the data, owners feel more confident about the U.S. economy, with 57 percent of respondents expecting increased revenue growth. Additionally, 38 percent of business owners plan to hire in 2015; and of those, 46 percent plan to hire six or more employees.

“We’re seeing an increase in confidence and optimism surrounding the state of the U.S. economy,” said Brian Sutter, director of marketing, Wasp Barcode Technologies. “As more owners plan for increased revenues, they are also planning to hire more employees. Furthermore, they plan to take necessary steps to assist in overall growth, such as implementing BYOD policies, better asset and inventory management strategies, and increased IT spending in general. These efforts bode well for our economy.”

The report also reveals owners see the value of online marketing, despite a low percentage of marketing investments. 61 percent of small business owners use social media strategies to garner prospect interest, while a smaller amount, 46 percent, use email marketing. The importance of the company website is also very high with 59 percent of business owners leveraging their website and blog as a marketing tool.

To download the 2015 State of Small Business Report, please visit www.waspbarcode.com/SMBReport.