Inside Track: Small businesses feel optimistic

Although 71 percent of U.S. small business owners think the economy is still cloudy, 72 percent of Minnesota small business owners, and 69 percent nationally, have a sunny outlook for their prospects, according to the annual U.S. Bank small business survey.

Rick Hartnack, vice chairman of consumer and small business banking, said small business people are "creating ways to survive despite lingering concerns about the economy.

"Business is rebounding, especially among businesses with at least $1 million in annual sales and five or more employees," Hartnack said. "Prospects for growth are particularly strong, as are their plans to hire."

Economic uncertainty, which seems to be the national constant created by Washington warfare, the blizzard of often-contradictory economic reports and eurozone worries, remains the No. 1 concern among respondents. And health care reform is a growing concern with a majority of respondents fearing they will be adversely impacted.

Small business owners are most concerned, going into the 2012 elections with issues of health care, the solvency of Medicare, jobs and unemployment taxes and the growing federal deficit. Amid the consternation, about half of the small business owners surveyed in Minnesota, Illinois, California ,Wisconsin, Arizona and other U.S. Bank states say they plan to take at least a couple of weeks vacation this year. That's a good thing.

More info on the survey of 3,220 small business owners with under $10 million in sales is at www.usbankconnect.com.

The Minnesota Council for Quality celebrates its 25th birthday at its annual conference and awards ceremony on Tuesday with an eye toward the future.

The council was created by the late Gov. Rudy Perpich and the Minnesota Legislature as part of the national movement to improve manufacturing, quality and productivity and reward best practices as embodied by the "Baldrige Awards," named for the late U.S. Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige.

State funding ceased in 1998 and Congress recently ended federal funding for Baldrige-related initiatives.

Brian Lassiter, president of the Minnesota Council, reports "we're at the center of creating a new national business model that integrates the 33 independent state programs with the Baldrige program into a new self-sustaining 'Baldrige Enterprise,' to further our collective work in improving businesses, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and government. As the Minnesota program changes and expands, we're doing so in a coordinated way with the national effort to improve outcomes, performance, competitiveness."

Rossy Rivera, a longtime Brooklyn Park accountant who switched to sales with Mary Kay more than a decade ago, has won the use of the coveted pink Cadillac.

Rivera moved to Columbus, Ohio, to expand her business at the invitation of the company two years ago and was a finalist in the Hispanic Business Person of the Year competition of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. She still has a Minneapolis-area business and one of her daughters has joined her in the company.

The Mexican immigrant, who said she could speak little English when she arrived more than 20 years ago, has a Latina-oriented business clientele and attributes her success to the satisfaction she gets "helping women develop their abilities and self-esteem."

About 85 percent of Minnesotans now have access to broadband download speeds of 6 million bits per second and upload speeds of 1.5 million bits per second -- up from about 81 percent last October. In addition, the study said nearly 95 percent of rural Minnesota households had access to broadband of some sort, but didn't specify the speed. (Some rural broadband download speeds are as slow as 1 million bits per second or less.)

The report didn't reveal how many people actually subscribe to the broadband services that are available. As recently as last year, a survey showed that 28 percent of Minnesotans didn't use broadband at home, said Bill Hoffman, the program manager of Connect Minnesota.

STEVE ALEXANDER

Total revenue of the merged operation will approach $5 million and benefit about 200 individuals, some with criminal backgrounds, who get a second chance through important "social enterprise businesses." These businesses provide value for customers and trainees through business-to-business and consumer retailing, recyclable material processing, custom apparel and promotions, contract manufacturing and light assembly. Janet Ludden, a Rebuild board member, becomes president of the merged PPL Enterprises operation.