A survey by QuickBridge states 83 percent of business owners expect their business sales to increase over the next year. The Q4 survey data assessed small business owners' expectations for business growth and the U.S. economy in 2019.

Highlights from the survey include:

• Optimism is high: 83 percent of respondents are confident in an increase in sales, with 15 percent predicting they’ll remain flat, and 2 percent down.
• New tax laws received mixed reviews: 49 percent of respondents expect no impact, with 35 percent predicting their tax burden will be reduced, and 16 percent expect their taxes to increase.
• Challenges remain: 33 percent of respondents believe that securing capital will be their biggest challenge, with growth, increasing profits and hiring employees averaging 20 percent each.
• Praise for online lenders: 54 percent of respondents think online lenders make it fairly easy to secure funding when compared to traditional lenders, with 22 percent stating very easy, and 24 percent difficult.
• Expansion cited as main reason for seeking financing: 28 percent of respondents plan to use funding for expansion, with equipment acquisition and consolidating/paying off bills each coming in at approximately 21 percent.

In response to the small business optimism indicated in the survey, QuickBridge is providing business owners with a free resource for 2019 strategic planning. The "5 Essential Tips for Small Businesses Heading into a New Year" white paper offers advice on how small business owners can use end-of-year planning to anticipate future challenges and opportunities.

“Were pleased to see small business owners optimistic about the future. We surpassed our 2018 growth projections and hope for repeated success in 2019,” said QuickBridge President, Ben Gold. We are very supportive of our clients’ expansion efforts and encourage business owners to download our white paper for ways to strategically plan and prepare for the new year.”

Founded in 2011, Quick Bridge Funding LLC is a privately held financial services firm with headquarters in Irvine, CA with a satellite office in New York City. The company provides short-term working capital loans to small to mid-sized businesses nationwide. Since its founding, QuickBridge has provided more than $600 million in working capital to more than 10,000 businesses.