Roughly 70% of small business owners say they're confident that their business will improve in the next six months, according to the latest American Express small business report.
More than 75% of respondents in the survey conducted by Angus Reid Strategies said they believed the reward and opportunities from running their own business outweighed the risks and challenges.
That optimism is helping them deal with some of the sacrifices they're making to protect their businesses. The report found that about a quarter of businesses owners have stopped taking a personal salary and another 25% have invested their personal funds to continue to support employees during the recession.
Roughly 60% are cutting back on expenses and 48% are curbing personal spending. But 46% are striving to increase customer value to improve cash flow and strengthen their business.
Keeping with the long-held belief that a company's greatest asset is its employees, business owners said they were willing to make sacrifices to retain talent and keep employees happy. About a third said they continued to provide bonuses while 28% said they continued to provide pay raises.
According to the survey, business owners continue to take moderate risks by investing in their business in a downturn. More than half said they were making investments in new equipment or other capital expenditures, while a third said they were using personal assets to cover costs. About 30% are using a line of credit or back loans to pay creditors and 18% have extended payment terms for customers.