Record Share of Franchise Seekers Upbeat About Startup Conditions Ahead

By: Michael Alston for Franchise Insights

April 2, 2024 – Over 61% of aspiring business owners either agree or strongly agree that “now is a good time to start a business,” with optimism about conditions ahead. In the March survey,  a record 89.3% of respondents see conditions for business and franchise startups “the same or better in three months.” 

Of this month’s respondents, 47.6% of entrepreneurs planned their startups within the next three months, though down from the record 62.1% last month. Further, over 64% of entrepreneurs surveyed say they are “more or much more likely to launch their startups than three months ago.” 

89.3% Say Business Conditions Will Be the Same or Better in Three Months

FranchiseInsights.com compiles monthly the Small Business Startup Sentiment Index™ (SSI) of individuals who have recently inquired about businesses for sale. The most recent Startup Sentiment Index™ survey was conducted March 21-30, 2024. 

Additional highlights:

• Future business conditions: Reversing a multi-year downtrend in sentiment about future business conditions, 89.3% of respondents see conditions no worse – staying the same or getting better in three months– with 64.1% seeing conditions “about the same” as now, which they view as good.
• Access to funding: The percentage of entrepreneurs concerned about finding  adequate funding dropped to 65% from 70%, and those who see funding “harder or much harder” to obtain in the next three months were 24.3% of respondents.
• Demographics: A record low 36.9% of respondents were currently employed full-time, and 18.4% were current business owners seeking an additional or replacement business. Freelancers and consultants grew to 24.3%, followed by part-timers at 16.5%. The Gen-X cohort dominated with 45.3% of respondents, and Millennials followed at 32.6%. Baby Boomers stood at 20% of respondents. This month, Gen-Z made up 2.1% of respondents.

Freelance, Consulting and Part-Timers Rise in Share of Applicant Pool

Download a copy of the latest FranchiseInsights.com Small Business Startup Sentiment 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 FranchiseVentures lead generation platform.

FranchiseVentures 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, April 3rd, 2024.