Will the recovery continue and, if so, will you, as an entrepreneur, benefit from it in 2011?

The past year was an eventful year, marked worldwide by the credit crunch. The prospects for 2011 are uncertain. The past three months showed signs of a slight recovery in several industries. The responses to the SME Market Monitor 2010* showed that Dutch entrepreneurs are positive about the coming year:

Entrepreneurs expect to see a growth

When asked how the respondents saw the development of their own business in the next three years, the responses were mostly positive. A large majority of 62% say they expect to see a growth. Catering is the most optimistic: 70% forecast a growth; followed by Corporate Services. Construction and Government are relatively most pessimistic. Educational institutions are uncertain about the future. 17% don’t know. The smaller businesses are relatively positive about their future growth opportunities. 68% of the businesses with less than 10 employees indicate that they will grow in the next three years.

More flexible workforce

The optimistic expectations for the future are also translated into the expected growth of the flexible skill pool/ contingent work force. 50% of the businesses expect to see a growth. In addition, an average of 44% of the organisations expect the flexible skill pool to stay the same and 7% expect a reduction. Industry and Transport are the sectors most convinced to see a growth in the flexible layer. The Financial Institutions and the Government are relatively least convinced of such a growth.