By the numbers: The state of small business in 2013

If 3,000 of your small-business and entrepreneur counterparts offer any indication, then you’ll continue to look at 2013 through “cautiously opti-mistic” glasses. Here’s why:

7.1 percent: Small retailer sales growth rate in 2012.

67 percent: Small-business owners who plan to increase their marketing spending in 2013.

70 percent: Small-business owners who spend fewer than three hours per week on email marketing, despite 77 percent reporting that this increases their revenue.

84 percent: Small businesses using mobile marketing strategies that saw an increase in new business activity last year.

88 percent: Businesses in which the owner serves as the primary marketer.

Source: AWeber Communications, MasterCard Advisors, Web.com