What's Eating Entrepreneurs Today

Profitability, passion for the job, balancing work and home life -- all are issues taking up the most space in business owners' minds these days.

The recently released 2012 UPS Store Small Business Survey offers a window into what entrepreneurs are thinking about lately.

Here's a list of their biggest concerns, according to the survey:

• Making a profit (50 percent of respondents -- no big surprise here) 
• Growing the business (36 percent)
• Time management (about 30 percent)
• Meeting customers' needs (about 30 percent)

(Responses add up to more than 100% because respondents could choose more than one answer.)

In a surprising finding, only one in three respondents said they have successfully turned their personal passion, talent or skill into a business. When you consider the importance many place on doing what we love, this is a sad showing.

Relatedly, about a third of respondents cited a desire to work for themselves as the main motivation for being in business. But another chunk (15 percent) said their incentive for being in business was needing a job.

Is this is the case for you, I encourage you to use your current entrepreneurial endeavor to learn as much as possible about business ownership and then transfer that knowledge to something you enjoy and have a passion for.

What's been top of mind for you lately? Share your thoughts and respond to others in the comments section below.

Read more stories about: Surveys, UPS Store