Small business owners are growing increasingly confident about the nation's economic conditions, the latest Capital One Small Business Barometer survey shows.
According to the bank, almost 80 percent of the 1,915 small business owners it polled believe the economy is improving or staying level. Thirty-nine percent say their firm is in better financial shape than it was last year - an 11-percentage-point improvement from the Capital One survey conducted in the fourth quarter of 2009.
"There is some positive momentum," Capital One executive vice president of small business banking Robert M. Kottler said.
Despite the growing optimism, business owners are still operating with a recession-era mindset. A separate survey, conducted by small-business software company Sage, found that owners are watching their finances closely and resisting new capital expenditures. Sixty percent of the 1,481 customers it polled are being more careful with money, and 40 percent are foregoing capital projects.
Small business owners "believe the end of the economic recession is near … [but are] monitoring finances more closely than ever," Sage senior vice president Connie Certusi said.
The Capital One survey had a margin of error of 4.38 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level, while the Sage poll had a 2 percent margin of error.
