Economy worries persist for entrepreneurs

Business owners are a vexed group of people, according to new surveys about the depths of the recession.

In one report, a Citibank small business survey, the possibility of a double-dip recession received an overwhelming amount of ayes. Indeed, 90% of survey respondents fret a double-dip could loom. The Citibank survey was a random poll of 1,000 business owners of companies with at least $100,000 in annual revenues and no more than 100 employees.

The silver-lining good news is 79% of the respondents say they are financially and mentally prepared for another downturn, and only a small minority, 5%, project they will cut jobs. Most respondents, 78%, say they will keep employee levels unchanged.

The debut of the monthly Office Depot Small Business Index brought less clarity to the economy. In that survey, of 1,000 customers who run businesses with one to 99 employees, 45% of the respondents indicated they have seen signs of recovery, while 55% say there are no such signals.

Entrepreneurs are also still watching their wallets tightly, Office Depot reports. More than one-third, 38%, say they are limiting business travel in response to the recession, while another 29% say they have cut advertising and marketing budgets.