Of the owners and managers responding to the nationwide quarterly SBRBpoll co-sponsored by International Profit Associates, 34% said they plan toexpand their businesses the next 12 to 24 months. This is an increase ofnine points from the 25% who said during the prior quarter that they wereplanning to expand their businesses. A previous SBRB report capturing datafrom a sample of all small businesses, said that overall in the U.S., 32%of the businesses participating in the fourth quarter poll plan to expandduring the next 12 to 24 months.

Among the manufacturing companies participating in the study, it isindicated that there will be significant concentration on human resourcesand customer satisfaction to help propel their expansion plans.

The addition of new products was cited by 26% of the respondents planningfor growth as the most important contribution the next 12 to 24 months.Providing more services (22%) and enhancing customer service capabilities(20%) followed. The addition of new locations (14%) and expansion atcurrent locations (13%) rounded out the top five.

During the prior quarter, by contrast, expansion at current locations andenhancing customer service capabilities finished a close first and second,respectively. Adding new locations and adding new products tied for third.Providing new services was fifth.

In terms of productivity, the fourth quarter participants said improvedstaff training would provide the greatest boost to their business. Addingmore staff was second, followed by improvements to existing automation andtechnology and the implementation or enhancement of employee incentiveprograms. Adding "more" automation or technology is cited as being thefifth most important element that could improve productivity in the comingmonths.

These results represented a shift from the third quarter when the additionof more automation or technology was regarded as the leading means forimproving operating efficiency the next 12 to 24 months. This wasfollowed by improved staff training and the addition of more staff as ameans for enhancing productivity. Improvements to existing automation wasfourth and the implementation or enhancement of employee incentive programswas fifth in the rankings.

The increased interest in growth needs to be contrasted with the recentlyreleased SBRB Manufacturing Industry Small Business Confidence Index(M-SBCI) which fell to 32 during the fourth quarter of 2007, a decline of6.33 points from 38.33 recorded the prior period.

All three major indicators used in calculating the index were lower.

Only 23% are expecting the economy to improve during the next 12 months, 13points fewer than the 36% who believed the economy would improve asreported in the third quarter of 2007. Similarly, 37% of the same groupsaid they expect revenues to increase during the coming 12 months versus45% who predicted revenue increases during the third quarter. Hiring plansalso were less optimistic with 26% of the respondents saying they wouldincrease hiring against the 32% who said they would increase hiring duringthe prior period.

The current M-SBCI is 1.67 points lower than that reported for all U.S.small businesses during the fourth quarter of last year. The overall U.S.SBCI of 33.67 was nearly 10 points (21.7 %) lower than the index of 43reported during the third quarter of 2007.

More than 950 owners and managers participated in the national study.

The Small Business Research Board ascertains and reports the opinions ofsmall business owners and managers on a wide variety of topics related totheir own businesses as well as national and international issues that mayimpact their operations. The SBRB conducts these studies for the benefitof small business owners and managers. The SBRB also providesopportunities for third parties to gain real time insight into theattitudes of small businesses nationwide through the independentlyconducted research.

The universe of participants is developed from among small businessesacross the United States. The SBRB study is a voluntary survey conductedvia phone and email. The latest information about the Small BusinessResearch Board can be found at www.biznus.net.

International Profit Associates, Inc. (IPA) is the largest privately heldprovider of management consulting services to small and medium-sizebusinesses in North America. IPA, based in Buffalo Grove, Il., and itsmore than 1,800 professionals offer a wide range of proven and innovativemethodologies to help businesses grow and prosper regardless of theeconomic cycle. IPA either provides directly or through its affiliatedcompanies a comprehensive array of business advisory services, tax andestate planning services or merger, acquisition and other financialadvisory services in the United States and Canada. More information aboutIPA can be found at www.ipa-iba.com.

For more information about this poll, results of previous studies or othermatters related to the SBRB, please contact Raymond D. Minkus,(847) 441-4192.