Small business owners look forward to growth

According to j2 Global's recent Small Business Survey, 76 percent of small businesses were optimistic about their growth possibilities for 2012, while only 7 percent were not.

"Small businesses have always been a driver of economic growth. Seeing their continued optimism, as well as their adoption of mobile technologies and social media, is a promising sign," said Mike Pugh, vice president, marketing of j2 Global. "SMBs keep pushing forward, finding new, more efficient ways of doing business in the cloud and on the move."

The survey gave insight into how small business owners are dealing with the new age of technology being offered in the market, which include social networking platforms. Most of the young business owners were expected to be optimistic about growth, as more than 85 percent of Millennials - those 32 years of age and older - said they are confident their operations will see a boost in 2012.

The older the business owner, the less optimistic they were found to be, according to the study. Eighty-one percent of Generation X, 71 percent of Baby Boomers and 64 percent of senior citizens expect growth for their businesses this year.

With social networking emerging as a necessary segment of a business' success, BusinessInsider.com recently recommended that companies, seeking to improve business promotions, implement a social media plan in order to capitalize on more than 1 billion users who are utilizing Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.