Yesterday Chase Business Banking and their small business clients gathered for a conference in Phoenix. Chase for Business conference provided financial insights and mentorship to help their clients understand what keeps a business successful.

Chief Economist of Chase Business Banking Anthony Chan shared, “ I think the small and medium size businesses play an important role. Many studies do show that they can create as many as 80 percent of all the new jobs that are created. So policies that don’t provide full support for small or medium size business, therefore are not as supportive for the US economy. I think they play a pivotal role in the path of the US economy; they play a pivotal role in terms of a lot of the research and development that takes place.”

Chan went on to state that these types of business conferences play an important part in the success of smaller business. He said, “When you look at studies out there they say that one of the largest impediments for small business survival is whether or not they have the proper financing, the proper mentoring. We do know that almost 50% of small businesses all survive after 5 years, but studies show that when these businesses have some support either from the small business administration or perhaps even lenders that sometimes provide some mentoring for these small businesses, the survival rate does increased dramatically to 80%.”

Part of small business being successful means also understanding the current state of the economy. According to Chan, the economy is doing pretty well, “Last year we grew at one and a half percent this year we’re looking for growth to be about 2.2%. This week we saw the levels of consumer confidence jump to the highest reading since 2004, suggesting that consumers are feeling more confident than in nearly 13 years. Remember two-thirds of the economy is consumer spending, and if consumers are feeling a lot better they’re like to spend more than that, and that’s going to support the economy.”

Along with Chan providing an economic outlook, the conference also featured a keynote address from Clint Bruce, founder and president of Trident Response Group. Preceding the speakers, Chase for Business then offered breakout sessions where clients could learn more about, cyber-security, capitol, marketing, building business relationships, social media, and entrepreneurship.

Small businesses are vital to our economies growth. In order for us to reap the benefits of a thriving business, we must first provide a solid foundation to ensure small to medium size business will prosper. This begins with events such Chase for Business. Businesses need to understand how the economy not only impacts the growth of their business, but also how their business impacts our economy. As businesses begin to understand this, have proper financing, and utilize mentors, they’ll increase their chances of keeping their business booming.