For nearly two years, midsize U.S. businesses have been rising to the challenges of the COVID-19 economy. Issues that were considered temporary disruptions have proven to be much longer lasting. But they haven’t been viewed as insurmountable.
Our 2022 Business Leaders Outlook survey indicates that today’s executives are experts at reimagining, renewing and rebuilding their companies. Many have stood up to every challenge and shown they will not be defeated. Their resiliency appears to have paid off—and is fueling near-record levels of optimism for growth.
Midsize U.S. business leaders are more optimistic about their companies now (83% have a positive outlook over the next 12 months) than before the pandemic (76%), according to the survey. And for good reason: 70% of leaders said their businesses have returned to or exceeded pre-pandemic levels of profitability.
Nine out of 10 of those surveyed expect their businesses to grow and thrive over the next year. None of the respondents said they are afraid of going out of business. In fact, capital expenditures and credit needs—typical signs of plans to expand—are both expected to go up significantly from a year ago.
RISING TO THE CHALLENGE
These three business challenges—once thought to be transitory—remain on the minds of midsize business leaders, according to our survey.
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Tight labor market
Business leaders said the worker shortage is the biggest challenge they’re facing. They believe they’ll need to get creative to fill positions and keep current employees. They also expect to pay higher wages for talent.
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Clogged supply chains
The pandemic forced many midsize businesses to focus on global issues that didn’t affect them before. The supply chain is a prime example—and business leaders see it as a prime opportunity to mitigate risks going forward.
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Higher cost of business
The math is simple: Labor shortage + supply chain issues = higher costs. But business leaders believe higher expected revenues in the coming year should help their companies keep the inflation equation in check.
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