Business Owners and Attitudes Toward The Economy

SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS AND ATTITUDES T OWARD THE ECONOMY THE STRESS OF THE ECONOMY has been heavily weighing on Americans, but for those who own a small business, times have been especially hard. A survey by Webs.com explores how small business owners have fared during the economic crisis. 38 percent of small business owners surveyed said they launched their own business because they were laid off or unable to find full-time employment. 38% EXIT TODAY'S SMALL BUSINESS OWNER of those surveyed are employed elsewhere part-time and 24% have their own business to supplement their income. of those surveyed are employed elsewhere full-time and 26% have their own business to supplement their income. Vs 50% work full-time for their small business. HAVE YOU DELAYED No, I have increased my level of investment. 13% INVESTING IN YOUR No, I have maintained BUSINESS BECAUSE 48% OF ECONOMIC the same level of investment. 39% Yes, I have delayed investing. UNCERTAINTY? 0% 50% CUSTOMERS PROCESSES CAPITAL 100 - THE BIG CONCERNS OF 90 - MARKETING SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS 80 - 70 - What's the one thing that concerns you the most about your business and keeps you up at night? 60 - 40 - 37% 30 - 20% 20 - 16% 11% 10% 10 - 7% Ability to generate leads/acquire new customers How to best market/ advertise Not enough time in the day Finding more efficient Other Access to enough capital processes THE MEASURE OF COST & EFFECTIVENESS of participants say having a website is the most cost-effective way to advertise a business these days. 76% 61% say their website has positively impacted their business through either more sales or generating more leads. THE OPTIMISTIC VIEW NEARLY HALF OF SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS BELIEVE THE ECONOMY WILL GET BACK ON TRACK WITHIN THE NEXT FEW QUARTERS. Will the Economy Bounce Back in the Next Few Quarters? 47% 27% 26% AGREE NEITHER AGREE DISAGREE OR DISAGREE $67% of those surveyed believe their business will generate more revenue in 2012 than it did in 2011. Despite the current economic downturn, only 20% of small businesses had to lay off any employees, but over half admitted to a delay in hiring new workers. ALL DATA COLLECTED FROM A WEBS SURVEY OF 1,710 SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS. SOURCE: WEBS.COM webs %24