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www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | MAY 2015 23 OPTIMISM ON THE RISE AT SMALL BUSINESSES BUT INVESTMENTS LAG, SAYS AMERICAN EXPRESS OPEN SMALL BUSINESS MONITOR Small business owners are more positive about the overall economy and their own business prospects over the next six months, but their increased optimism is not translating into investments. According to the 2015 American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor, more than two thirds of business own- ers have a positive outlook (67%, up significantly from 54% in spring 2014). However, capital investments (56%) and hiring plans (34%) are flat compared to last year, and the top priority for entrepreneurs is "keeping/maintaining their current busi- ness and sources of revenue." Improving economic conditions are paying off for entre- preneurs personally. On average, business owners are paying themselves an annual salary of $73,700, up from $71,200 last fall. Entrepreneurs are also more confident about their ability to save for the retirement they want and fewer report being wor- ried (47%, down significantly from 65% a year ago). "Despite a positive outlook on the economy and business prospects, entrepreneurs are cautious given the slower growth of the past few years and are holding the line on business invest- ments, reluctant to be caught without capital if the need arises," said Denise Pickett, president, American Express OPEN. "They are however raising their own salaries, investing in themselves and paying themselves back after doing without during the re- cession." As entrepreneurs look to preserve their current business, 82 percent say they will place a heightened focus on better serv- ing customers to set their businesses apart from competitors (up from 78%, last spring). Even with this continued focus on customers, fewer will be analyzing customer data to drive their business decisions: Just 45 percent of business owners say they analyze customer or other data for their businesses, down significantly from last year (65%). According to survey respondents, the biggest barrier to implementing data analyt- ics is time (42%). Though it's no longer the top priority for business owners, growth plans are still critical, as more than three quarters of business owners plan to grow their businesses over the next six months (76%, up from 72% last year). Construction is the lead- ing sector with growth plans (91%) followed by manufacturing (86%) and retail (85%). The primary way business owners plan to grow overall is by selling more of the same products or ser- vices (32%), though they cite the rising costs of doing business as the biggest challenge to growth (22%). American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor, conducted since 2002, is based on a nationally representative sample of 742 U.S. small business owners/managers of companies with fewer than 100 employees. The anonymous survey was conducted via telephone by Ebiquity February 17-March 3, 2015. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.6% at the 95% level of confidence. GAS HEATING SCHOOL – DAYS June 1-5, 2015 Beckett TTC, Fiskdale (Sturbridge), MA RIELLO OILBURNER WORKSHOP June 9, 2015 Beckett TTC, Fiskdale (Sturbridge), MA GAS CONVERSION WORKSHOP June 11, 2015 Beckett TTC, Fiskdale (Sturbridge), MA MA OILBURNER CODE CLASS – 4 HOURS June 12, 2015 Beckett TTC, Fiskdale (Sturbridge), MA STEAM HEATING SCHOOL June 16, 2015 NETE TTC, Stamford, CT RIELLO OILBURNER WORKSHOP June 17, 2015 NETE TTC, Stamford, CT GAS CONVERSION WORKSHOP June 18, 2015 NETE TTC, Stamford, CT MA OILBURNER CODE CLASS – 4 HOURS – EVENING ONLY June 24, 2015 Elks Home, North Adams, MA MA OILBURNER CODE CLASS – 4 HOURS June 24, 2015 Elks Home, North Adams, MA MA OILBURNER CODE CLASS – 4 HOURS July 10, 2015 Beckett TTC, Fiskdale (Sturbridge), MA NORA BRONZE OIL HEATING SCHOOL - DAYS – 2 WEEKS July 13-24, 2015 NETE TTC, Stamford, CT MA OILBURNER CODE CLASS – 4 HOURS August 7, 2015 Beckett TTC, Fiskdale (Sturbridge), MA CONTACT: GEORGE LANTHIER 508.421.3490 VOICE | 508.421.3477 FAX www.FiredragonEnt.com