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EXECUTIVE sUMMARY
Small businesses are usually referred to as the backbone of the U.S. economy. The owners of these businesses justifiably have a reputation of hard work and entrepreneurial spirit, but that does not necessarily give an accurate depiction of their satisfaction or outlook. Yodle commissioned an online survey in June 2013 through a third party research firm to measure the true sentiment of small business owners. The 300+ respondents from across the country own small businesses in a variety of white and blue collar industries ranging from law and financial services to construction. Among other things Yodles First Annual Small Business Sentiment Survey examines work-life balance, identifies professional and personal concerns, gathers perspective about economic and political issues, and also takes a look at small business owners approach to technology and marketing. Yodle has served small businesses for more than eight years and is proud to reveal the results of its inaugural sentiment survey.
Yodles First Annual Small Business Sentiment Survey includes a sample of 306 small business owners across the United States that work in services industries. Heres a breakdown of the small business owner respondents by role, age, blue/white collar, amount of time theyve owned their own business, and the number of employees they have.
PROFILE OF REsPONDENTs BY THE AMOUNT OF TIME THEYVE OWNED THEIR sMALL BUsINEss
0-2 YEARs 3-5 YEARs 6-10 YEARs 11-15 YEARs 16-20 YEARs 19 32 53 47 36 119 306 6% 10% 17% 15% 12% 39% 100%
21+ YEARs
sURVEY REsULTs
WORK-LIFE BALANCE
A slight majority of small business owners appear to have a decent work-life balance. 52% of small business owners work 40 hours or less a week, while only nearly 1 out of 10 (9%) small business owners work more than 60 hours a week. 72% of small business owners take at least two weeks of vacation per year. More than 1 out of every 4 (27%) small business owners take at least four weeks of vacation, while the same number (27%) take 1 or less weeks of vacation per year.
30% 40% 25% 39% 20% 15% 12% 10% 8%
21-40 41-60 61-80
27% 18%
27%
16% 11%
1%
81-100
5% 0%
None 1 2 3 4
VaCatION WEEKS/YEaR
OWNING A BUsINEss
A significant number of people are content that they own a small business. A vast majority (91%) of small business owners are at least somewhat happy with their choice to go into business for themselves, with more than half (55%) reporting that they are extremely happy with their choice.
60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
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The majority (59%) of small business owners definitely wont or likely wont sell their business in the next few years. Conversely, over 1 in 4 (29%) small business owners are leaning towards not owning their business anymore.
35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 13% 4% Would you like to sell your business in the next few years? 25% 25% 34%
55%
36%
How happy are you that you became a small business owner?
4%
4%
1%
5% 0%
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sURVEY REsULTs
Despite the strong satisfaction levels of most small business owners with regard to being self-employed, many still have significant professional and personal worries. The top three personal worries for small business owners include affording healthcare, saving for retirement, and providing an adequate family lifestyle.
sURVEY REsULTs
A large percentage of small business owners generally do not believe that the federal government or other institutions provide adequate support. Only 27 percent of small business owners small businesses more than it hinders them.
25% that the federal government does not 75%
3 out of 4 small business owners believe provide adequate tax incentives to small business owners.
ADEQUATE INADEQUATE
Small business owners named trade associations and banks as the two most helpful organizations at 34% and 26% respectively. However, a higher percentage of small business owners (39%) reported that they do not find any organizations some of which are specifically set up to support them as helpful to their business.
5
26%
39% 10%
34% 15%
7% 8%
sURVEY REsULTs
32%
What impact do you think the Affordable Healthcare Act will have on small businesses? 14% 9% 3% 9% 9% 15%
32%
17%
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ew
So
sURVEY REsULTs
Most small business owners have still not adopted modern technology or new marketing techniques. Almost 1 in 4 (23%) of small business owners report that they dont spend any money on marketing, while just over half (56%) spend less than $500 a month.
On average how much is your business monthly marketing budget? 18% 10% 3%
49 99 49 99 $0 -2 -4 -7 -9
38%
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A majority of small business owners dont have a website (52%) or a mobile-optimized website (90%).
6
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sURVEY REsULTs
ABOUT YODLE
Yodle connects consumers to local businesses simply and cost-effectively. The combination of automated technology and comprehensive customer support makes Yodle easy to use. Yodles offering is also ROI-driven: local businesses set a budget for which they receive calls and emails from qualified consumers. Today, Yodle delivers results for more than 35,000 local businesses. To do so, Yodle establishes a comprehensive desktop and mobile web presence, implements unique SEO techniques, and deploys proprietary paid search technology that dynamically optimizes online media buys across multiple desktop and mobile outlets. Yodles solution also includes relationship marketing, display advertising, and a simple performance dashboard. Yodles competitive advantage is derived from the sheer scale of its local performance data across multiple industries. Yodle is ranked #28 in the Forbes list of Americas most promising companies. For more information on Yodle, visit yodle.com.