Respondents to a March 17-19, 2020 poll of aspiring franchise owners showed slightly more reserve than in previous surveys, but less than one would imagine given the impact of Covid-19 on business and the markets. Granted, these respondents are stepping forward at a time like this to consider business ownership, so they do not represent the general population or overall consumer confidence.
The Small Business Startup Sentiment Index™ is based on a monthly survey of individuals who have recently inquired about businesses or franchises for sale on the digital assets of Franchise Ventures, the leading demand generation platform for potential franchisees to thousands of growing franchise systems in the United States and Canada.
Over 54% of respondents think that “now is a good time” to start a business. For context, this may be explained by the time horizon for the search process — 59% of respondents expect to start a business within the next three months, and another 17 percent within four to six months.
See more details from the small business survey at FranchiseInsights.com