By Frank Lewis
Ohio’s small businesses reported a slight improvement in July, bucking a national downward trend, according to the Thumbtack.com Small Business Sentiment Survey, a monthly survey of independent local service businesses in the U.S., including 360 responses in Ohio.
Designed with Bloomberg, the survey is housed and integrated into the economic functions of the Bloomberg Professional service.
In that report, Portsmouth is listed as having multiple small business services available. Among those are business plan consulting, catering, commercial cleaning, DJs, event photographers, karaoke rental, magicians, makeup artists, photo restoration, photographers, tree trimming, videographers, wedding officiants, wedding photographers and wedding videography.
In the report, key findings for Ohio include, the biggest improvement for Ohio’s small businesses was around future financial conditions and profitability; Ohio’s small businesses are more optimistic than others nationally, and within the Midwest, and one downturn was in expected capital expenditures.
Small businesses in Ohio reported that their biggest concern was acquiring new customers. In regards to hiring, Ohio’s small businesses rank in the top five nationally for their plans to hire which is a big improvement from June.
“Although the economy as seen through the eyes of America’s small businesses has improved over the last year, and some areas reported stronger economic sentiment, recent trends show that small businesses overall are not feeling optimistic about the future,” Thumbtack’s Chief Economist Jon Lieber said. “Expectations about future economic conditions have been on a five-month decline, even though hiring expectations nationwide are holding steady, which is a continued good sign in the labor market.”
Reach Frank Lewis at 740-353-3101, ext. 1928, or on Twitter @franklewis.
