Survey Says: Happy Days are Here Again... Maybe

After struggling through the Great Recession, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel -- although, as Steve Caldeira, president and CEO of the International Franchise Association, recently told me, "Right now, it's only a 40-watt bulb." Still, the financial health of the nation's small businesses seems to be improving. And does the state of your state matter more than the state of the union? Here's a closer look at some of the latest small-business surveys.

Have Americans Lost Their Appetite for Eating Out?

Consumers are starting to spend again, but restaurants aren't seeing much of the bounty -- at least, not yet. In a new survey by Mintel, 63 percent of respondents said they can't afford to eat out regularly, and 24 percent said they plan to spend less at restaurants this year than they did in 2010.

Restaurants were hard hit by the recession as consumers cut discretionary spending, and the frugal attitude isn't going away -- 66 percent of respondents said they will spend the same amount on restaurant dining in 2011 as they did last year. The bright spot: 10 percent of respondents plan to spend more than last year.

Franchised restaurants are expecting a better 2011, however. According to the 2011 Franchised Business Economic Outlook, prepared by PwC for the IFA, full-service franchise restaurants are expected to hit $55.7 billion, a 4.6 percent boost from 2010, while fast-food establishments expect sales to grow by 4.9 percent, to $194 billion. That's a lot of burgers and fries.

Overall, 2011 franchise revenues are expected to grow 4.7 percent, totaling $739.9 billion. The study also projects 2.5 percent growth in both the number of franchise establishments (to 784,802) and employment growth, adding 194,000 new jobs, totaling 7.8 million people directly employed by the franchise industry.

Small Businesses Rebounding

Franchising isn't the only business segment experiencing growth. The Small Business Authority's first-ever SB Authority Index, a barometer of the financial health of U.S. small businesses, was up 1.05 percent in 2010. That's a big improvement for the small-business economy, rebounding from weakness in 2008 and 2009. The index measures eight economic indicators, including small-business loan origination, retail sales, credit-card processing volume, small-business loan default rate and new business formation.

According to Small Business Authority president and CEO Barry Sloane, growth in electronic payment processing, retail sales and SBA-guaranteed loans -- which hit record highs in the last quarter of 2010 -- drove the index higher.

A Not-So-Fine State of Affairs

This all sounds like good news, but maybe the state of the union doesn't matter as much as the state of your state. According to an American Pulse Survey by BIG Research, more than 61 percent of Americans believe the state where they live may be in financial trouble and unable to provide services to its residents -- compared to just 29.2 percent who think everything's fine. Where do the pessimists live? Illinois, California, Michigan, New York and New Jersey (in descending order) make up the top five worrywart states. Check out the survey to see if your state is on the list. If it is, your marketing methods and sales pitches need to take residents' financial anxiety into account -- even as the outlook for the rest of the country improves.

Rieva Lesonsky is CEO of GrowBiz Media, a content and consulting company that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses. Follow Rieva at Twitter.com/Rieva and visit SmallBizDaily.com to sign up for her free TrendCast reports.