Nearly 70 percent of business owners in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties surveyed by Entrepreneurs’ Organization reported higher revenue over the past six months, and 57 percent said they hired additional full-time employees, according to a new report from the worldwide economic development institution.
EO’s Global Entrepreneur Indicator survey also showed that more than 80 percent of respondents expect to increase revenue and net profit, and more than 63 percent plan to hire more full-time workers over the next six months. What’s more, a near unanimous 98.8 percent of South Florida respondents said they would be willing to launch a business in today’s economic climate.
South Florida business owners are outperforming their peers and are more confident about the future, according to the survey. South Florida entrepreneurs outpace their counterparts around the world by about 10 percent in recent performance, projected results and in optimism. About 4,000 business owners worldwide responded to the study.
“Economic growth has been strong in South Florida, resulting in these great survey scores,” said Aaron Lee, president of EO’s South Florida chapter and founder of Miami Lakes-based Illuminati Studios. “And the level of startup optimism is even more exciting for so many of us working to build the area’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
EO South Florida is one of the world’s largest EO chapters with about 180 members who run businesses that account for more than 10,000 jobs and $2 billion in annual revenues in the tri-county region, the organization said. For details on the GEI survey, visit www.eonetwork.org.