In honor of National Small Business Week, we recently reached out to our small business customers to hear how they’re doing now that the first quarter of 2016 is a wrap.

The good news? The majority are starting the year off on a high note — with more than 70 percent meeting or exceeding their Q1 revenue targets.

This positive news follows on the heels of a solid 2015, where the majority of those surveyed achieved higher year-over-year revenue, indicating small business are building momentum.

With revenues on the upswing, more than half surveyed are planning to boost their marketing spend in 2016.

Hiring plans are not as robust, however, with 50 percent saying they have no plans to hire more employees this year.

It’s no secret that small business owners value their independence. This fuels the do-it-yourself attitude that many small business owners share when it comes to tackling their countless responsibilities.

Which had us wondering: how much time do they devote to learning about new technologies or business tactics?

The answers confirm that learning is indeed a priority, with the majority of respondents telling us they allocate up to 10 percent of their time each month to learning something new.

As for their motivation, the number one reason isn’t to stay ahead of the competition. Natural curiosity was the top answer, followed by professional development, and to better understand their customers.

Our local education team at Constant Contact sees this thirst for knowledge firsthand, as they have reached a major milestone: educating more than one million small businesses on how to be effective marketers.

Our one-of-a-kind local education program was created to help small businesses learn the online marketing best practices they need through live, in-person educational seminars and workshops since 2008.

Small Business Week, Every Week

Whether you prefer to learn in-person, online, or outsource your marketing responsibilities to a qualified expert, we’re committed to helping you succeed.

We’d love to hear how you learn about new marketing tactics — and which marketing tools you’re most interested in learning more about  — so please share your thoughts below.

If you’d like more details on the survey findings, find them here.

The post New Data: Small Businesses Are Off to a Great Start in 2016 appeared first on Constant Contact Blogs.