BURLINGTON, Mass., Jan. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A majority (77
percent) of small businesses owners have a 'positive' or 'very
positive' business outlook for 2016, according to the 2016 State
of the Union Survey released by Endurance International Group
(NASDAQ: EIGI). Nearly half (48 percent) of small business owners
said their business fared better in 2015 than in 2014 and a
majority (72 percent) feel 2016 will be positive in comparison to
2015.
The results of the survey, released on the eve of President
Obama's seventh State of the Union address, reveal that 79 percent
of U.S. small businesses feel that Congress has not been effective
in addressing issues important to small businesses – down from 87
percent last year. A majority (57 percent) of small business owners
do not believe either party is effective on small business issues,
with 76 percent believing that Congress should play a larger role
in helping small business growth.
The survey also reveals that over half (57 percent) of small
business owners plan to make financial investments this year,
whether it is in product development, buying additional materials,
or investing in real estate. Of those that are making financial
investments, 47 percent would characterize the investments as
'significant.' And, surprisingly, 42 percent of small businesses
plan to hire over the next year, a significant increase given that
93 percent of the small businesses surveyed currently have fewer
than 6 employees, and 47 percent are sole proprietors.
When asked to rank key issues important to small businesses,
survey respondents ranked Taxes and the Ability to Obtain
Bank Financing as their top two concerns, respectively. As for
issues that are most important for President Obama to address in
his State of the Union address, respondents named The
Economy, Education and National Defense as their
top three concerns, ranking higher than Immigration and
Race Relations.
"While small business owners are upbeat about their own business
prospects, it is clear that they believe Washington could do more to help stimulate
small business growth," said Endurance CEO and Founder, Hari
Ravichandran. "Concerns about taxes and the ability to obtain
bank financing remain front and center. Congress must prioritize
small business issues in order to create long-term economic
growth."
As for the current field of Presidential candidates, when asked
about their thoughts on who would be the most effective leader on
issues important to small business, small business owners selected
Donald Trump the highest-ranking
Republican candidate at 30 percent and Hillary Clinton the highest-ranking Democrat at
44 percent.
Endurance's 2016 State of the Union Survey provides
insights and perspectives on small business owners' economic
outlook, political sentiment, and the current field of Presidential
candidates. The survey was conducted from December 16, 2015 to January 4, 2016 and surveyed 1,135 U.S. small
business owners, all of whom use Endurance's web presence
solutions. For purposes of this survey, small businesses are
defined as employing 10 or less people on either a full-time or
part-time basis.
Endurance International Group is a leading technology provider
of cloud-based platform solutions to help small and medium-sized
businesses succeed online. Endurance, through its family of brands,
supports more than 4.5 million subscribers globally.
Full survey results can be found in the chart below and online
here.
Survey Results
|
QUESTION
POSED
|
RESPONSES
|
|
How did your
business fare during 2015?
|
Same as 2014:
40%
Better than 2014:
48%
Worse than 2014:
13%
|
|
What is your
general business outlook for 2016?
|
Very Positive:
28%
Positive:
49%
Neutral:
21%
Negative:
2%
Very Negative:
1%
|
|
What is your
general business outlook for 2016 in
comparison to
2015?
|
Same outlook:
24%
Negative compared to
2015: 4%
Positive compared to
2015: 72%
|
|
Do you plan to
hire employees in 2016?
|
No: 58%
Yes: 42%
|
|
Do you plan to
make any financial investments, such
as investments in
developing new products, buying
materials or real
estate, in your business in 2016?
|
No: 43%
Yes: 57%
|
|
If you plan to
make any financial investments in
2016, how
would you characterize them?
|
Significant:
47%
Minor: 41%
Same as last year:
12%
|
|
Do you feel that
the Congress is effective in
addressing issues
important to small businesses?
|
No: 79%
Yes: 21%
|
|
Do you think
Congress should play a larger role in
helping small
business growth in the United States?
|
No: 24%
Yes: 76%
|
|
Do you feel that
President Obama has been an
effective leader
on issues important to small
business?
|
No: 39%
Yes: 28%
Don't know:
33%
|
|
Which political
party do you feel best represents
and advocates for
small businesses in America?
|
Democratic Party:
25%
Republican Party:
18%
Neither Party:
57%
|
|
Please rank, in
order of importance, what issues you
feel are most
important to small business.
|
- Taxes
- Ability to obtain
bank financing
- Healthcare
coverage
- Ability to hired
skilled workers
|
|
Please rank, in
order of importance, what issues you
feel are
most important for the President to address
in his State
of the Union address.
|
- The
economy
- Education
- National
defense
- Immigration
- Race
relations
|
|
Will you watch the
President's State of the Union
address?
|
No: 44%
Yes: 56%
|
|
Which Republican
Presidential candidate do you
think would be the
most effective leader on issues
important to small
business?
|
Jeb Bush:
11%
Ben Carson:
10%
Chris Christie:
5%
Ted Cruz:
9%
Carly Fiorina:
7%
Jim Gilmore:
1%
Lindsey Graham:
3%
Mike Huckabee:
3%
John Kasich:
5%
George Pataki:
2%
Rand Paul:
7%
Marco Rubio:
7%
Rick Santorum:
2%
Donald Trump:
30%
|
|
Which Democratic
Presidential candidate do you
think would
be the most effective leader on issues
important to
small business?
|
Hillary Clinton:
44%
Martin O'Malley:
20%
Bernie Sanders:
37%
|
*Due to rounding, numbers may not add up to 100%.
About Endurance International Group
Endurance
International Group is a publicly traded (NASDAQ: EIGI) technology
company that helps power small and medium-sized businesses online.
Through its proprietary cloud platform, Endurance provides web
presence solutions including web hosting, eCommerce, eMarketing and
mobile business tools to approximately 4.5 million subscribers
around the globe. The company's world-class family of brands
includes Bluehost, HostGator, iPage, Domain.com, A Small Orange,
MOJO Marketplace, BigRock and ResellerClub, among others.
Headquartered in Burlington,
Massachusetts, Endurance employs more than 2,700 people
across the United States in
Utah, Texas, Washington and Arizona and in the United Kingdom, India, Israel
and Brazil. For more information
on how Endurance can help grow your business, visit endurance.com,
follow us on Twitter @EnduranceIntl and like us on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/EnduranceInternational.
Endurance International Group and the compass logo are
trademarks of The Endurance International Group, Inc. Other brand
names of Endurance International Group are trademarks of The
Endurance International Group, Inc. or its subsidiaries.
Press Contact:
Dani
LaSalvia
Endurance International Group
(781) 852-3212
press@endurance.com
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visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/survey-vast-majority-of-us-small-business-owners-are-both-bullish-on-2016-outlook-and-critical-of-government-support-for-small-business-300201835.html
SOURCE Endurance International Group