In a recent statewide survey of 609 small to medium-sized businesses, respondents to the latest Michigan Future Business Index (MFBI) indicated concerns over wage inflation, supply chain issues, and overall inflation continue to shrink. While sales and profits hit record lows over the past year, data indicates there are brighter days ahead, based on small business expectations.

The semi-annual MFBI was commissioned by the Michigan Business Network. The survey is sponsored by Cinnaire and conducted by the Michigan-based market research firm ROI Insight. Mike Witt, Cinnaire SVP Asset Management, joined Chris Holman, Michigan Business Network CEO, to share the results in a forum.

“The Michigan Future Business Index offers valuable insights for community leaders, policymakers, and advocates, shedding light on the challenges faced by business owners in today’s economy,” said Mike Witt. “The survey provides a platform for small business owners to articulate their distinct perspectives, enabling decision-makers to better comprehend and address business operations in Michigan. Small businesses fill a crucial role in fostering healthy communities. We are pleased to join our partners from the Michigan Business Network to share the results of the survey.”

Overall satisfaction with the business economy remains in positive territory after recovering from the negative in Q2. A plurality of business owners say they are satisfied with the business economy in Michigan. Nearly half of all respondents are optimistic about demand, growth, or opportunity in the next six months.

“With the release of the Q4 2024 Michigan Future Business Index, we found that the last six months were very difficult on revenue and profit,” Holman said. “It should be noted that the enthusiasm for improvement did go up and business is expecting a better six months ahead. The index for satisfaction with Michigan as a good place to do business also climbed.”

Additional Findings

• Nearly half of businesses say they have fully recovered from the pandemic, projects for sales, profits, and hiring are trending upward
• Satisfaction with the business economy holds positive at 50%
• Michigan continues to be a great place for small businesses – 62% believe Michigan remains a pretty good (46%) to excellent (16%) market for their business; 59% say our state business taxes are mostly (53%) to very (6%) fair

For more details, data and graphs covering the results, 
click here.

For added insight, we share video from the 2024 Mid-Michigan Economic Forecast Breakfast where the MFBI Survey was initially released 8 a.m. January 11th!

About Cinnaire
Cinnaire is a non-profit financial partner that supports affordable housing developments along with community and economic revitalization initiatives through creative investments, loans and real estate development services. Since 1993, Cinnaire has invested $4.7 billion to support the development of 811 housing communities in 10 states, providing 49,700 affordable apartment homes for more than 100,000 individuals and families and has provided community development loans to support the creation/retention of more than 187,000 square feet of commercial, mixed-use, and community space. In its mission to change lives and transform neighborhoods into thriving communities, Cinnaire has helped to create or retain over 76,000 jobs and spur $8.8 billion in economic impact. https://cinnaire.com

About the Michigan Business Network
As the leading voice for small businesses in Michigan, the Michigan Business Network (MBN) believes the people making the decisions need to hear how your business is doing. MBN is an information provider seeking to help grow and develop Michigan’s economic community.

https://www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/