Entrepreneurs are a hardy, optimistic group.
With interest rates climbing and the economic climate cooling, entrepreneurs are making hay while the sun shines. Some, indeed, are finding business opportunities in the very uncertainty that has others clucking and shaking their heads. An economy that's leveling off after soaring higher and longer than ever before is hardly cause for panic. On the other hand, with inflation on the rise, all but the foolhardy are calculating more and celebrating less. About 12 percent of the firms recently surveyed by the National Federation of Independent Business reported price hikes up from an average 5 percent last year and 2 percent the year before.