Success, Satisfaction and Growth

1. 1

   Small-business owners generally feel that their current businesses are successful. On a scale of “1” to “10” with “10” meaning “extreme success” and “1” meaning “total failure,” owners evaluate their firms as 7.3. Twenty-one (21) percent assess their ventures as a “9” or “10.” Only 17 percent rate theirs below the scale’s mid-point.

2. 2

   Small-businessmen and women who feel that their businesses are highly successful identify “quality of products and/or services” and “treatment of employees, customers, and business associates” as the two factors that most influenced their evaluations. Those who feel their businesses are not successful most often cite “financial performance” as the factor most influencing theirs. “Personal satisfaction” and “growth performance” are comparatively infrequent bases on which owners rate their firms’ success.

3. 3

   The personal satisfaction small employers realize from owning their businesses is 8.0 on a scale of “1” to “10” with “10” meaning “extremely satisfied” and “1” “extremely dissatisfied.” While personal satisfaction is positively related to business success, more satisfaction is achieved by small-business owners than success. Forty (40) percent rate their personal satisfaction from business ownership as a “9” or “10.”

4. 4

   Forty-two (42) percent of small-businessmen and women spend the most time on a typical day in operations/making the product or service. Sales and marketing consume the most time for 22 percent while 15 percent volunteer that they just hop from task to task. Comparatively few typically spend most of their time in planning and strategy (10%), finance (6%) or personnel (3%).

5. 5

   One likely reason that so many small employers receive so much personal satisfaction from business ownership is that a majority (51%) spend most of their time doing what they like to do best. The most popular type of activity is operations/making goods or services (35%) and marketing and sales (32%). The two areas where small-business owners as a group would like to spend more time and apparently cannot are sales and marketing (32%) and planning and strategy (17%).

6. 6

   Small-businessmen and women are indifferent to the term used to describe them. More prefer “small-business owner” (47%) than “business owner” (26%) or “entrepreneur” (20%). But, comparatively few object to any one of the three. “Entrepreneur” draws the most objections (12%).

7. 7

   Fifty-one (51) percent of small employers want to grow. However, most who want to grow have modest aspirations. Eight to 9 percent of all owners would like to become “growth” firms.

8. 8

   Forty-three (43) percent of small employers prefer to remain the size that they are now. The most frequent reason for their preference is that they feel comfortable with the business as it is (44%). The lack of financial and/or human resources (22%), the risks expansion implies (14%), and a limited market (13%) are other frequent reasons. Three percent would like to contract.

9. 9

   Terminating a business large enough to employ people is usually not a “spur-of-the-moment” decision. Twenty-three (23) percent of current owners say that they plan to get out in the next few years. Fifty-nine (59) percent of that group plan to sell. One-quarter intend to form another business.

Volume 1, Issue 6, 2001
ISSN 1534-8326

William J. Dennis, Jr.
NFIB Research Foundation

• 1Over the next few years, do you intend to grow your business, to make it smaller, or to keep it about the same size as it is now? Top 100
• 5During a typical day, in what area of the business do you spend most of your time? Top 100
• 1aIn terms of annual sales, how large would you eventually like your firm to be? A broad estimate is fine.
• 1bWhy do you want to see your business grow to that size? Does it have to be that size to:?
• 1cWould you eventually like to have your firm “go public,” i.e., have its stock traded on one of the public exchanges?
• 1eWhy do you want to keep your business about the same size? Is it because:?
• 2Do you intend to get out of your business within the next few years?
• 2aDo you intend to get out by:?
• 2bDo you plan to start another business after you leave this one?
• 3On a scale of 1-to-10 where “10” means extreme success and “1” means total failure, how successful is your business?
• 3aWhat are the TWO most important factors influencing the rating you just made of your firm’s success?
• 4On a scale of 1-to-10 where “10” means extreme satisfaction and “1” means extreme dissatisfaction, how much personal satisfaction have you received from owning this business?
• 5aIn what area of the business do you LEAST like to spend your time?
• 5bIn what area of the business do you MOST like to spend your time?
• 6Several terms are used to describe people who own and operate smaller businesses. As one of those people, which of the following terms do you prefer?
• 6Aa(term) A small-business owner.
• 6Ba(term) A business owner.
• 6Ca(term) An entrepreneur.