How Small Business Owners Feel About Doing Business

Are you confident that business is better this year than last? And what's the business outlook for the coming year? If you have mixed emotions, you're not alone. The MasterCard Global Small Business Survey was conducted from October 3 - November 3, 2006 and polled 4,000 small business owners or managers around the world who run businesses with 1-99 employees. And those results were mixed too. Just take a look at the survey highlights.

* Financial Confidence - Half of all small business owners worldwide (51%) are confident that they will meet their financial goals this year. Small business owners in Hong Kong are the least confident out of those surveyed - only 26% feel confident that they will meet their financial goals next year. Those in the United States are the most confident - 62% say they feel confident that they will meet their financial goals next year.

* Business Outlook - Overall, 50% of all small business owners feel their business´s future outlook is promising, with 13 percent saying that their future is "extremely promising." Small business owners in the United States are the most likely to say their business´s future outlook is promising - 66% say it is, while only 22% of small businesses in Hong Kong and 36% of those in France say it is.

* Impact of Globalization - Half of all small business owners (50%) personally see increasing globalization as helping their businesses, while just one in four (26%) sees it hurting their business. Small business owners in Brazil (63%) and China (66%) are most likely out of all the regions to see increase globalization as helping their business. France was the only country to have more small business owners say that globalization would hurt their business (36%) rather than help it (32%).

* Average Work Week - Globally, small business owners work an average of 54 hours a week and spend an average of 18 hours a week doing administrative tasks. Small business owners in France work the most out of all of those surveyed, working an average of 59 hours a week. Small business owners in China work the least, an average of 46 hours a week.

* Year-end Bonuses - Out of those small business owners who are planning to give a annual bonus to their employees this year, those in Mexico, France, Brazil and China plan to give an average of 10% of their employees´ salaries, while those in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia plan to give an average of only 5% of their employees´ salaries.

* Motivations for Running a Small Business - Globally, small business owners say that making enough money to cover living expenses (94%) and having more control over the future (91%) are important motivations for running their own business. Small business owners in Brazil are the most likely out of all those surveyed to say that providing employment (95%) is an important motivation, while small business owners in China are the most likely to say that building something that can be passed on to their family (95%) is an important motivation. Those in the United States are the most likely to say that being their own boss (93%) is an important motivation.

* Use of Technology - Three in four small business owners around the world (78%) say technology is important to their business´s future, with one in four (26%) saying technology is "extremely important." Small business owners in Mexico and Brazil are the most likely out of all the regions to value technology - 91% say technology is important to their businesses future.

* Job Fulfillment - Nearly half of all small business owners (48%) say that running their own business is definitely as fulfilling as they expected it to be. Small business owners in Mexico were the most likely to claim this - 65% say that running their own business is definitely as fulfilling as they expected it to be. While small business owners in China were the least likely - only 6% say that running their own business is definitely as fulfilling as they expected it to be.

* Business Control - Nearly one half of all small business owners (48%) think they have a lot of personal control to decide the future direction of their business. Small business owners in China were the least likely out of all the regions to claim this - only one in seven small business owners in China (14%) say that they feel they have a lot of personal control to decide the future direction of their business.