Who is the small business owner?

Who is the small business owner? Gain a better understanding of small business owners to help grow your business. Small Business Voices

Table of Contents Who is the Small Business Owner?....2 A Diverse Mix of Owners...3 An Optimistic Outlook, Shared Concerns... 5 A Different Approach for a Different Market...6 Four Ways to Connect with Small Business Owners...7 1

Who is the Small Business Owner? From your favorite local restaurant and flower shop to new tech startups and decades-old law firms, small businesses have an outsized impact on the nation s economy. In fact, small firms account for 99 percent of U.S. companies and employ nearly half of the nation s private workforce. 1 They re often referred to as the country s economic engine, and that makes sense, says Patricia Greene, the Paul T. Babson chair of entrepreneurship at Babson College. They re the net job creators, and yet we tend to forget the fact that we re a nation of small businesses. These small firm employers not only generate jobs and innovate products and services, but they also present an exciting market opportunity for benefits brokers and carriers. The key to cracking the small business market is understanding who these entrepreneurs are, the problems they face and how you can help. In this paper, you ll learn about: the demographics of U.S. small businesses and their owners. small business owners top concerns and challenges. how you can make better connections with small business decision makers. Small Business Voices Turning food service into a career Business owner: Jerry Nevins Company: Snow & Co. Employees: 40 Location: Kansas City, Mo. Nevins started his frozen cocktail business with some friends from grad school. Snow & Co. has since made its name in Kansas City for serving craft frozen cocktails made with real juice, premium spirits and homemade syrups. Nevins says treating his employees well is part of the young company s culture. He pays higher than minimum wage, offers sick benefits and is exploring other benefit options. We want this to be a place people can have a career, not just a job, he says. 2

A Diverse Mix of Owners Jerry Nevins, founder of Kansas City, Mo.-based Snow & Co., pulled equity out of his home and borrowed on credit cards to help get his frozen cocktail bar up and running in 2011. Four years later, he says the gamble was worth it: he now employs 40 people at two locations and has a loyal clientele who frequent his establishments, even during the cold days of winter. Being able to stand back and say I built that is a feeling worth more than money, Nevins says. His company is one of more than 5.7 million small business employers in the U.S. 2 Among those firms, businesses with fewer than 100 employees account for the largest share of employment. While small businesses operate in every industry, health care and social assistance, retail trade, and food services comprise the lion s share of employment. 3 U.S. Employment by Firm Size 500+ employees 100 499 employees 1 99 employees Source: SBA, 2014 Small Business Profile Small business owners are as varied as the businesses they run, representing a range of ages, ethnicities, education and experience. The group s demographics have shifted in recent years. For instance, more minorities and Hispanics are starting companies, with minority-owned businesses representing 15 percent of the small business market in 2012 compared to 11 percent in 2007. 4 Meanwhile, the percentage of small businesses owned by women has stabilized at 36 percent, relatively unchanged from five years ago. 5 3

And though the media often spotlights young tech entrepreneurs starting companies right out of college, more than half of business owners are now older than age 50. Only about 16 percent of entrepreneurs are younger than 35. 6 Small business owners share some additional characteristics. For example, they are more likely to: Have a college education 39% have a bachelor s degree, while 33% report attending some college. Be married 67% have a spouse. Own a home 78% of business owners own a home. 7 When it comes to personalities, many different types of people have started small businesses. Babson College s Greene says that many studies that attempted to correlate specific personality traits with business success have been debunked. However, she adds that most entrepreneurs have a passion for their idea and the persistence to bring it to fruition. It s a lot of work, she says. So you d better be excited about it. Small Business Voices A partner is just as important as price Business owner: Brian Forth Company: SiteCrafting Employees: 35 Location: Tacoma, Wash. In an industry known for turnover, Forth is proud of the fact that few employees of his web design and app development firm ever leave. He s strived to create a collaborative culture at SiteCrafting and he extends that expectation to his insurance providers. I don t need someone to sell me something on the cheap, he says. Instead, I want a partner who is actively looking for ways to help me throughout the year. 4

An Optimistic Outlook, Shared Concerns To Nevins, owner of Snow & Co., optimism and entrepreneurship go hand-in-hand. Before you start, you have to believe that you re going to beat established businesses and competitors in your industry, he says. That brand of confidence is especially prevalent now. According to Inc. magazine s State of Small Business Report, 57 percent of small business CEOs rated the prospects for their business over the next 12 months as excellent. 8 Shiloh Stephen Branigan is one such founder. She opened her Amarillo-based brewery supply store after being laid off in 2013 and blew past her initial expectations of sales in her first year. Her husband has since quit his job to work at the store, and she s hoping to hire another employee soon. We re carrying quite a bit more inventory, and we have more customers now, Branigan says. But even with a can-do attitude, small business owners face many challenges, from finding that next customer to the cost of providing employee benefits. A 2014 Gallup poll of more than 600 small business owners offered some insight into what keeps these entrepreneurs up at night. Their top concerns were: 1. Attracting new customers/finding new business 21% 2. The economy 11% 3. Government regulation 11% 4. Health care 8% 5. Hiring and retaining employees 8% 6. Financial stability and cash flow 7% Source: Small Businesses Face Regulatory, Operational Challenges, Gallup, February 2014 5

Cash flow is always an issue, both when you re growing and when you have to cut back, says Brian Forth, founder and president of SiteCrafting, a Tacoma, Wash.-based app development and web design firm. Forth has 35 employees at three locations. He s proud that his first and second employees are still with his firm 14 years after Forth hired them. That loyalty is rare, especially in the tech industry where people are apt to move around. But ensuring that his business remains a place they want to work is always top of mind. Benefits play a huge role. We want to provide the best benefits and cover health care, dental and life insurance, he says. But it s a big expense and we re definitely concerned about how to juggle that. A Different Approach for a Different Market Small businesses and their owners present an exciting opportunity for insurance brokers looking to expand their client base or offer new products, says David Mills, MetLife s senior vice president, small market leader. Technology has made it easier for small companies to administer life and disability insurance as well as dental and vision benefits. Even more important: business owners want to offer them. Consider that 57 percent of workers at firms with fewer than 100 full-time employees have access to employer-provided medical benefits. 9 Disability and life insurance, vision and dental are natural additions. Many small businesses already offer these products, Mills says. But selling to small business owners requires a different approach than selling to a larger company. Small business owners are often the decision makers, and they may still be involved in several aspects of their business. Their time is limited and their need for easy-to-understand solutions is high. 6

Four Ways to Connect with Small Business Owners Here s how to get small business owners attention and make a connection: 1. Understand what they do Read up on the small business you re targeting and learn about the product or services they offer, the history of their company, the background of their founders and even a bit about their industry. I get really turned off by cold calls, says Kate Finley, founder and CEO of Belle Communications in Columbus, Ohio. The least someone could do is research my company. Find out what s important to me and then tell me why I want what you re selling. A little legwork can go a long way in your first conversation, lending you credibility and helping you identify solutions to potential problems even before your first meeting. 2. Learn about their community Jiake Liu, CEO of Santa Monica, Calif.-based ProspectWise, a company that crowdsources small business data, says small business owners value face-to-face interactions. That s how they do business with their own customers, Liu says. If you can come across as a member of their community, then you have a much better chance of having a productive conversation. As a broker, you re likely already part of the local business scene, but getting involved can make a difference. Join local business groups and participate in community events. You ll become a familiar face, and the first person the business owner thinks of when he or she has an insurance need. Small Business Voices Balancing benefits with growth Business owner: Kate Finley Company: Belle Communications Employees: 7 Location: Columbus, Ohio Kate Finley s integrated PR company has grown faster than she ever dreamed, doubling its revenue each year since Finley started in 2013. One of Finley s main challenges now is making sure she has the right employees in the right positions. A big part of that is offering them an attractive benefits package, while still keeping an eye on cost. I want to set my employees up for success, and at the same time we can t be overextended, she says. 7

3. Become a partner Instead of thinking about a transaction, strive to form a partnership. That means proactively reaching out to help your small business customers throughout the year. I want to feel like we re in this together, says Forth, president of SiteCrafting. Get a big-picture sense of your customers pain points and then solve as many of their problems as you can. Mills says this may mean extending your offerings beyond benefits into other types of insurance such as property and casualty. You ll not only save the business owner time and possibly money, but your own book of business will grow, too. 4. Keep it simple Look for ways to make it easy for your small business customers to understand what you offer and how it works. Mark Silliman, CEO of Bend, Ore.-based SmartWaiver, which provides digital waivers for businesses, says the easier, the better. You can definitely get overly complicated when it comes to insurance and benefits, he says. We don t know all the terms, we re trying to do it right and time is of the essence. Small Business Voices To get my business, make it simple Business owner: Mark Silliman Company: SmartWaiver Employees: 6 Location: Bend, Ore. Mark Silliman is no stranger to small business. SmartWaiver, which provides digital waivers for businesses from rock gyms to preschools, is his fifth company. He s familiar with the intensity and time it takes to make an enterprise succeed, and he s appreciative of insurance providers who make it easy for him to understand what they re offering and how it will help his employees. The simpler it can be, the better, he says. Small businesses play a vital role in the economy, and could also be a key factor in growing your own sales. Take the time to understand the entrepreneurs behind these companies and the challenges they face. You ll make more meaningful connections and ultimately create partnerships that solve their problems and give your business a boost. 8

1 Frequently Asked Questions, SBA, March 2014 https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/faq_march_2014_0.pdf Small business defined by SBA as less than 500 employees. 2 SBA Small Business Profiles, June 2014 https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/files/_all%20states%2013.pdf 3 Ibid. 4 Demographic Characteristic of Business Owners, Small Business Administration Issue Brief https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/issue%20brief%202,%20business%20owner%20demographics.pdf 5 Ibid 6 Ibid 7 Ibid for all stats in bullets 8 How Small Business Owners Really Feel About the Future, Inc. magazine, Dec. 2014/Jan. 2015 http://www.inc.com/leigh-buchanan/future-perfect-the-state-of-small-business.html 9 Employee Benefits in the U.S., Bureau of Labor Statistics, July 2014 http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ebs2.pdf 9

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