Worst Business Startup Sentiment Seen in Two Years, But Most See Conditions the Same or Better In Three Months

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA – November 2, 2022 — A lower percentage of entrepreneurs see “now” as ideal for launching their businesses than any time since November 2020. Nonetheless, 53.8% of aspiring business owners either agree or strongly agree that “now is a good time to start a business”, down from the recent  high of 73.5% in February, 2022.

• Further, a decisive 72.5% see conditions “the same or better” three months from now

FranchiseInsights.com compiles monthly the Small Business Startup Sentiment Index™ (SSI) of individuals who have recently inquired about businesses for sale.  An increasing share (now 27.5%) see business conditions deteriorating in three months, but still 72,.5% see conditions for business startups “the same or better in three months.” In October, 47.3% of entrepreneurs planned their startups within the next three months, down from August’s recent high of 69.2%.

The most recent Startup Sentiment Index™ survey was conducted October 20-31, 2022. 

Additional highlights:

• Future business conditions: While most respondents see conditions “about the same” for startups (45.1%), the declining trend of those seeing future conditions better and increase in those seeing future conditions worse may be cause for concern in the coming months, consistent with national surveys of consumer and business confidence.
• Access to funding: The percentage of entrepreneurs concerned about finding  adequate funding stands at 70.3%, with those seeing funding “harder or much harder” to obtain in the next three months rising to 46.7%.
• Demographics: 45.1% of respondents were currently employed full-time, and 17.6% were current business owners seeking an additional business. Gen-X (51.1%) and Gen-Y “Millennials” (25%) were the largest age cohorts, and “Baby Boomers” grew to 18.2% of respondents. Gen-Z grew to 5.7%, the highest since the record 10% set in February 2022.

Download a copy of the October 2022 FranchiseInsights.com SSI report here. See excerpts from prior SSI™ surveys and subscribe to receive the Small Business Startup Sentiment Index™ monthly report when it is released.

The Small Business Startup Sentiment Index™ is based on a monthly survey of individuals who have recently inquired about businesses or franchises for sale on the digital assets of FranchiseVentures.

Franchise Ventures is the leading franchise lead-generation platform for potential franchisees to thousands of growing franchise systems in the United States and Canada. Its franchise lead generation brands include Franchise.com, Franchise Solutions, Franchise Gator, Franchise Opportunities, Franchise For Sale, SmallBusinessStartup.com and BusinessBroker.net, and together they provide the largest aggregation of prospective franchise buyers in the U.S.

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Published on Wednesday, November 2nd, 2022.