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DISCOVER® SMALL BUSINESS WATCHSM
SMALL BUSINESS ECONOMIC CONFIDENCE REMAINS STEADY
Small Business Owners Express Slight Dip in Confidence, Sharp Drop in April Halted
POLL: SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS WORK HARDER THAN THE REST OF US
Twice as Many Work 7 Days a Week, Majority Say Spouses Allow E-mail on Vacation
May 29, 2007
Riverwoods, Illinois, May 29, 2007 –
Economic confidence among small business owners
fell marginally in May, slowing a sharp decline
from the previous month, according the Discover®
Small Business WatchSM. At 110.0,
the Watch was down less than half of a percent
from April’s 110.3, which represented a seven-point
drop from a month earlier.
“Small business
owners are heading into the summer season with
some stability,” said Sastry Rachakonda, director
of Discover’s small business credit card. “Cash
flow issues and conditions for their own businesses
have trended lower but the sharp drop from the
previous month has largely halted.”
April
Key Findings:
• 34 percent of
small business owners feel that economic conditions
for their business are getting worse, a slight
increase from 32 percent in April and 26 percent
in March.
• Small business owners who
said they have encountered cash-flow issues over
the past 90 days rose to 41 percent, up from 40
percent in April and 33 percent in March.
• 31 percent of business owners said they
will spend less on business development, up from
29 percent in April and 25 percent in March.
Poll: Small Business Owners Work More,
Play Less than Most of Us
Slightly
more than one out of six small business owners
work every day of the week compared to one out
of every 16 people who work for someone else,
this month’s topic survey found.
“Small
business owners are the backbone of the American
economy and among the hardest working people in
America,” Rachakonda said. “Theirs is not a 9-to-5
job. It is more like a 5-to-9 undertaking, meaning
5 in the morning to 9 at night,” Rachakonda said.
Long Hours and Busy Weeks:
• Nearly one of three business owners,
31 percent, indicated they work at least 10 hours
or more per day on average. Nearly one out of
five non-business owners, 19 percent, worked the
same each day.
• 15 percent of small
business owners work every day of the week, more
than twice as many, 6 percent, as the general
population. Similarly, 28 percent of small business
owners work six days a week, compared to 15 percent
of the general population.
• Nearly
half of small business owners, 47 percent, said
that they always or mostly work on official holidays.
Fewer Vacations, Greater Availability
and Sympathetic Spouses
• More
than half of the business owners, 52 percent,
took seven days or less off work last year, compared
to 36 percent of the general population.
• 59 percent of small business owners define
a “day off” as being available for calls and emails,
working some time or even working all day at a
remote location. Only 32 percent of the general
population does the same.
• More than
half of small business owners, 55 percent, said
their spouses approve of them checking email when
they are off from work, compared to 37 percent
of the general population.
“Small business
owners are really focused on serving their customers
every day. Our survey found that 40 percent of
them carry wireless devices to keep in touch with
their customers and clients when off work,” Rachakonda
said. “Being a small business owner often means
that you are always open for business.”
About the Small Business Watch
The Discover Small Business Watch is
a monthly index measuring the relative economic
confidence of U.S. small business owners who employ
less than five employees, a segment that consists
of 22 million businesses producing more than a
trillion dollars in annual receipts. The Watch
is based on a national random survey of 1,000
small business owners. It is commissioned by the
Discover Business Card, which strives to offer
the best business credit card for American small
businesses, and is conducted by Rasmussen Reports,
LLC (www.rasmussenreports.com), an independent
survey research firm. The numeric index is calculated
by assigning values to responses to a set of six
consistent questions. The base value of the Watch
was established at 100.0 based on surveys conducted
in August of 2006. In addition to generating
the index, the Small Business Watch surveys small
business viewpoints on key business drivers, and
also surveys 4,000 consumers to gauge purchasing
behavior and attitudes towards small businesses.
For past results and small business survey data,
visit www.discoverbiz.com/watch.
For information on Discover Business Card, visit
www.www.discoverbiz.com.
About Discover Financial Services
LLC
Discover Financial Services
LLC, a business unit of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:
MS), operates the Discover Card with more than
50 million cardmembers and the Discover Network.
Discover Financial Services also operates the
PULSE ATM/debit network, which serves over 4,400
financial institutions and includes nearly 260,000
ATMs, as well as POS terminals nationwide. For
more information, visit www.discovercard.com,
www.discovernetwork.com
or www.pulse-eft.com.
The views and opinions expressed
by small business owners and consumers who participate
in the Small Business Watch survey are their own
and do not necessarily reflect those of Discover
Financial Services or its affiliates.
Media Contacts
Jon Drummond
Discover Financial Services
224-405-1888
jondrummond@discoverfinancial.com
Daniel Delson
Robinson Lerer &
Montgomery
646-805-2036
dmd@rlmnet.com
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