More than 65 percent of business owners in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties surveyed by Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) reported higher revenue and net profit over the past six months, and 55 of those businesses hired more employees, according to a new study from the worldwide economic development institution.

EO’s Global Entrepreneur Indicator (GEI), also showed that South Florida business owners are projecting continued economic growth in the region. More than 80 percent expect to increase revenue and net profit, and more than 67 percent plan to hire more full-time workers over the next six months.

“Overall economic growth has been solid in South Florida, and that has helped our EO members and other the businesses here post strong gains,” said Aaron Lee, president of EO’s South Florida chapter (EO-SOFLO) and founder of Miami Lakes-based Illuminati Studios. “More importantly, opportunities look great moving forward.”

More than 92 percent of GEI respondents in South Florida said they would be willing to launch a business with today’s economic outlook.

The report showed that South Florida entrepreneurs outpaced their counterparts around the world by about 10 percent in recent performance, projected results, and in optimism. About 5,000 business owners worldwide participated in the study.
“South Florida’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is especially diverse and dynamic,” Lee said. “This is such a rich and exciting region to create and grow a company.“

Broward-based EO-SOFLO is one of the world’s largest EO chapters with about 180 members who run businesses that account for more than 10,000 jobs and $2 billion in annual revenues in the tri-county region.

For more information on EO-SOFLO, visit www.eosoflo.com. For details on the full GEI survey, visit www.eonetwork.org.