Details of the study show that of the 281 fast-growth firms polled, 20 percent believed the single most important challenge of the year would be finding and retaining qualified employees. This makes the pressing shortage of qualified workers the focus of business worries this year, just as it was for 2006.
J. Fentress Seagroves, partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers' Private Company Services practice in Atlanta, says the issue of workers is "one of the key drivers of value and clearly the cornerstone of competitive advantage today." The next most cited issues for the most important challenge ahead included growing the business (18 percent); sales, revenue and demand issues (11 percent); and changing conditions in the economy (10 percent).
Despite these issues, it seems entrepreneurs are generally more upbeat this year compared to the last. Sixty-six percent felt optimistic about the U.S. economy (compared to 62 percent for 2006), and those surveyed said they were not very concerned about inflation, taxes, immigration and the possibility of a real estate bubble bursting. Seagroves says the positive outlook is meaningful because "confidence is a critical indicator of current and future economic activity."
Basic demographic figures of the companies polled showed they comprised 129 technology and 152 nontechnology firms and had average revenue topping $35 million. The average surveyed company showed growth of 211 percent in the past five years, and 77 percent of companies had 100 employees or fewer.
Full survey results are available in the January Entrepreneur issue, and more information can be accessed by visiting www.entrepreneur.com/features/entrepreneurialoutlook
