business on msnbc. hi think, everyone. i m j.j. ramberg. welcome to your business where we give you tips and advice for your business to grow. it s been up and down for small business owners. there s positive news for the new year. business optimism rose 1.8 points, the highest level since february. it showed an increase in small business owner who is expect sales to increase and those expecting to hire. it was a political football in 2011 with president obama pushing his small business jobs plan and supporting small business saturday. his political opponents raised issues affecting small business owners in debates running up to primary season. what will 2012 bring for our entrepreneurial community. brian hamilton, the co-founder of a company that has software for small businesses, brian hecht and phil town. great to see all of you. thank you. bill, you have been here every year, i think, doing this with us at the end of the year. i want to start with you, also becau
Happening out there. private companies, 27 million of them, are growing right now. that s a fact over the last 12 months, so, it s kind of missed in the media picture. we need to know what s actually happening, and according to our data, you know, it s very strong. and do you feel like that s going to continue into 2012? well, it s a great question. over the last 200 years we have found that for every four years of expansion we have a downer year, right? so once those tides start to turn, you know, they usually keep going. so we expect a good year. we really do. brian hecht, you are sort of the quintessential entrepreneur. you have started and sold three businesses. in the tech base, which is a little different than a lot of the other businesses, and kind of booming right now. but what do you feel as an entrepreneur? yeah, i feel, like phil said, 2011 was a very messy year, marked by a lot of indecision. a lot of entrepreneurs i know are trying to decide, is it the time to grow
hi there, everyone. i m j.j. ramberg and welcome to your business. where we give you tips and advice to help your business grow. it s been an up and down year for small business owners. but there s reportedly some positive news as we head into the new year. the national federation of independent businesses optimism index grows 1.8 points last month. the highest level since february. the survey also showed an increase in small business owners who expect sales to increase, and those who are making plans to hire. the need to help small businesses was a political football in 2011, with president obama pushing his small business jobs plan and supporting small business saturday. his political opponents in the gop have also raised issues affecting small business owners, in debates running up to primary season. so, what will 2012 bring for our entrepreneurial community? william dunkelberg is the chief economist for the nfib. brian hamilton is the co-founder and ceo of save work a c
hi there, everyone. i m j.j. ramberg and welcome to your business. where we give you tips and advice to help your business grow. it s been an up and down year for small business owners. but there s reportedly some positive news as we head into the new year. the national federation of independent businesses optimism index grows 1.8 points last month. the highest level since february. the survey also showed an increase in small business owners who expect sales to increase, and those who are making plans to hire. the need to help small businesses was a political football in 2011, with president obama pushing his small business jobs plan and supporting small business saturday. his political opponents in the gop have also raised issues affecting small business owners, in debates running up to primary season. so, what will 2012 bring for our entrepreneurial community? william dunkelberg is the chief economist for the nfib. brian hamilton is the co-founder and ceo of save work a c
Get capital when capital isn t available. because i think that s what s coming in 2012. brian hamilton, when brian hecht was talking about how he thinks things are getting a little better, you re shaking your head. well, look. look at the data right now, revenues are up. that s a fact. it s happening right now, guys. it s already tipping. now, what s happening, the attitudes are now catching up to the data. but we ve got to get that data out there. things are not a mess right now. they re not. revenue is up for private companies. about 6% to 7% across the board. across 1400 industries. so it s not all gloom and doom. and we need to get that out there. phil, what do you think your small business owners need the most to keep their optimism up? well, we need customers. i mean if you look at the optimism measures out there, of course the university of michigan index for consumers is the worst we ve seen since 1980. not a great time. and even though we ve had the nfib index go up fo