According to the Bank of America November 2012 Small Business Owner Report, small business owners want to grow or sustain the level of success they’ve experienced in 2012, in the year ahead. They are optimistic about revenue and hiring expectations, but are still wary about the health of the economy. Moreover, small business owners are overwhelmingly committed to running their business, with the vast majority saying they’ve never had second thoughts about their decision to start a company, despite the stress it can cause them.

Report Highlights

• Over a third of small business owners believe the national economy will improve over the next 12 months and 38% believe their local economy will improve over the next 12 months. They have significant concerns about the coming year with the effectiveness of U.S. government leaders leading the way.

• Small business owners believe the health of their local environment more heavily impacts their business than the national and global economies. The majority of small business’s customers come from the community in which their business is based and small business owners cite the local economy as playing a significant role in their business.

• While most small business owners say they know what it takes to obtain a business loan from their bank, access to capital in 2013 is not a priority for a significant majority of them, with many saying they have enough to effectively run their business. Moreover, approximately one in three of the businesses applying for small business loans over the past two years are relatively green, having only been in business between one and five years.

Read the full Bank of America November 2012 Small Business Owner Report.