According to the American Express Small Business Monitor, a semi-annual survey of small business owners, over 38% of respondents said that the strongest and most important factor in becoming an entrepreneur is passion - having a driving and compelling vision, ambition and motivation towards a particular subject matter focus.
In terms of what type of passion then guides and motivates small business owners, building their customer base (34%) had the strongest influence followed by the importance of being profitable (27%) and closing "deals" (15%). This response suggests that small business owners are more pragmatic in nature and more focused on the tangibles (what they can see and measure) vs. the intangibles of business (what they may experience or feel).
Growing their business is also a major strategic objective for small business owners, and 71% of respondents stated that over the next six months that they plan on growing their businesses in an array of ways. The most popular path towards growth was by selling more of the same product or service (50%), followed by launching new product-service (22%), branching out into new markets (14%), and increasing investments in their current business (11%).
Maximizing productivity is a key issue for all entrepreneurs, and many are turning to the Internet for ways in which to improve how they conduct business, with 88% using the Internet for business activities. 60% going online for travel planning, 60% purchasing goods online from wholesalers and 48% conducting online market research. 19% of male-owned businesses have established an online presence to sell products and services compared to 16% of female-owned businesses.
What frustrates entrepreneurs most in terms of business management is not having enough time to do everything that is needed to run a business (20%). Employee management came in second with 16% of respondents voicing that they are frustrated with daily HR needs. Finding money to grow their small businesses or developing the business, managerial and operational skills required to run their businesses were equal frustrations to respondents (15%).
For many entrepreneurs business is family business and for those that are parents 61% would like their children to join their business and 18% are in their business today because they "inherited" the family business in one way or another. However, only 37% of respondents stated that they have a succession plan crafted for an orderly transition to a family member. Although this finding is a disparity in terms of desire and action, it is not uncommon in terms of the percentages of people who conduct orderly estate planning and transfer.
In thinking and planning for life at business retirement, 39% believe that social security will fund less than 25% of their retirement over 58% stated that private investments are necessary for providing for their long-term security. Concern over being able to fund their retirement increased this year (66% vs. 62% in 2006), but 57% reported that they are "on track" to save for retirement vs. 55% last year.
Shivonne Byrne, Innuity CMO
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Posted by: custom essays | June 30, 2011 at 01:49 PM