By Lea Pachta

Freshbusinessthinking.com Survey Reveals That Small To Medium Sized Enterprises See Green Shoots Of Recovery

‘Fresh Business Thinking’ (www.freshbusinessthinking.com), an online business resource for entrepreneurs asked owners of small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) whether they could see any green shoots of recovery and found that for many SME owners the recession is not all doom and gloom.

City expert says worst is over for markets. Trade with Precision founder Nick McDonald thinks the recent strengthening of the US dollar and changing direction of the stock market indices are the strongest indicators yet that the markets are finally recovering:“I see a lot of potential for a complete change of direction because of some very positive signs coming into the market“ he says.

Some of the replies to the survey were negative. David Sabin from Archaeological Surveys Ltd for example, is critical: “Green shoot recovery is just a term created by a media monster that saw money to be made by helping a recession along then got scared when it really started to bite. Some sectors have seen an upward blip partly on the back of billions thrown at the problem by the government - this is likely to have vanished by the end of the year.”

However, the majority of responses to Fresh Business Thinking were positive with some business owners believing that every recession creates new opportunities and prospects.

David McNamara, from Solicitors Own Software (SOS), a developer and supplier company of software for the legal sector says his business is doing well despite the recession. “We have continued to perform well during the recession, through keeping entirely focused on what we do best - helping drive efficiency gains to over 400 law firms. Obviously conveyance work is one of the areas greatest hit but many firms are now telling us their conveyance debts are busier now than they were six month ago.”

Phil Lewis from Source Software: “I believe that there are always opportunities for an enterprising business that chooses to view things with the right mindset. The company I work for is in insurance - we primarily serve intermediaries in the industry. Q1 2009 was a record quarter in terms of new business.  Throughout April & May there seems to be no signs of that abating.  This has been achieved primarily through unprecedented investment in our sales and marketing functions over the past 18 months.”

Debbie Scott Anderson from Global Gardening adds that things are not looking bad: “Gardening sales are up 30% this year and interest in green issues is also "growing" as companies and individuals examine how they run their businesses and live their lives. The economic slowdown has created a much needed time of reflection that should help the UK - and the world - evolve into a business climate where having a social/environmental conscience is the root to success.”