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What's Eating Entrepreneurs Today Small-business owners have a lot on their minds these days.

By Mikal E. Belicove

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Whats 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.

Mikal E. Belicove is a market positioning, social media, and management consultant specializing in website usability and business blogging. His latest book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Facebook, is now available at bookstores. 

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