Truist's Small Business Pulse Survey indicates that while
small business owners continue to navigate inflationary concerns,
they are finding new ways to grow their business through
investments in employees, technology, and sales practices
CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 3, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- While small business owners continue to be
concerned about inflation, they feel the future is bright and they
are making smart investments in their companies, employees, and
themselves, according to Truist's annual Small Business Pulse
Survey 1. This year the survey uncovered the
positive impact investments in technology, employee benefits, and
work-life balance can have on strong business growth – even during
times of economic uncertainty.
Small business owners are taking action to retain employees –
from investing in employee benefits to increasing wages
In the past year, 69% of small business owners have taken one or
more actionable steps to retain employees. In fact:
- 24% increased wages
- 18% provided training
- 16% offered remote work
- 14% offered additional benefits
- 13% offered employee recognition programs
- 11% offered health and wellness programs
- 11% offered additional personal time off (PTO)
- 9% offered childcare/child-friendly workplaces
Furthermore, business owners who feel better about their
company's financial well-being are significantly more likely to
have taken actions to attract/retain employees, and women-owned
businesses are more likely to offer programs focused on the
individual employee – investing back into the people who show up
for the business every day. This includes:
Comparison of programs
offered by small business owners
|
|
Women-owned
business
|
Total business
owners
|
Employee recognition
program
|
15 %
|
13 %
|
Health/wellness
programs
|
15 %
|
11 %
|
Childcare/child-friendly workplaces
|
12 %
|
9 %
|
"Our survey shows that small business owners are really
investing in retaining and attracting employees. Not only can this
lead to long-term growth, but it's simply the right thing to do for
their employees and communities," said Scott Stearsman, head of small business at
Truist. "This directly coincides with our values at Truist. We
believe by demonstrating care, we can fulfill the purpose on which
our company was founded, which is to inspire and build better lives
and communities."
Small business owners are actively working to boost
productivity and profits, with additional focus on making smart
investments in sales and technology
To no large surprise, across business owners, the top three
business concerns are inflation (35%), rising costs (35%) and
economic uncertainty (26%). In fact, when asked specifically about
inflation, 74% of total business owners said they were extremely or
somewhat concerned.
However, more than half (52%) of business owners feel that
business conditions have improved compared to a year ago.
Fortunately, that rings true for Charlotte, North Carolina, where 60% feel
business conditions have improved, and in Atlanta, where 64% feel business conditions
have improved.
Additionally, small business owners are focused on increasing
profits and making smart investments, with 87% of total business
owners engaging in activities to boost productivity and profits.
The top investments total business owners surveyed plan to make
include increasing sales efforts (26%) and increasing use of
technology (24%). When looking at specific groups of small business
owners, top investments also include:
Small Business
Group
|
Top
Investment
|
Women
|
Developing new products
or enhancing existing ones (24%)
|
BIPOC
|
Increasing sales
efforts (37%)
|
Tampa, FL
|
Increasing their use of
technology (32%)
|
Charlotte,
NC
|
Implementing employee
training/developing skill sets (33%)
|
Atlanta, GA
|
Investing in education
and training (33%)
|
"It's promising to hear that, despite current economic
conditions, small business owners are pivoting and making long-term
investments in technology and sales practices to level up their
companies for the future," said Stearsman. "They're planning ahead
and digging in so they can continue to care for the communities
depending on them."
This makes it challenging to maintain work-life balance, and
while small business owners know it's important, it does not
eliminate their stress
Despite the demands that come with running a small business,
owners are working to prioritize their work-life balance. According
to the survey, the most popular actions taken to achieve and
maintain this include:
- Scheduling personal time (39%).
- Establishing and maintaining defined work hours (31%); those
surveyed reported working an average of 40 hours per week.
- Creating work boundaries or setting times when they are not
available (30%).
However, small business owners are still feeling stressed. In
fact, 26% of BIPOC business owners and 21% of female business
owners reported feeling extremely stressed in comparison to
just 19% of total business owners surveyed. Additionally, 54% of
total business owners reported feeling extremely or somewhat
stressed, giving deeper insight into the stress levels of local
business owners:
Small Business
Market
|
Stress
Levels
|
Total Business
Owners
|
54% reported feeling
extremely/somewhat stressed
|
Tampa, FL Business
Owners
|
46% reported feeling
extremely/somewhat stressed
|
Charlotte, NC Business
Owners
|
48% reported feeling
extremely/somewhat stressed
|
Atlanta, GA Business
Owners
|
64% reported feeling
extremely/somewhat stressed
|
Furthermore, 67% of business owners have experienced negative
consequences due to their work life, including:
- Increased stress/anxiety (32%)
- Insomnia/trouble sleeping (21%)
- Spending less time on self-care (21%)
- Strain on close relationships (18%)
"At Truist we're committed to caring for those who care, and
that includes our small business owners," said Dontá Wilson, chief
retail and small business banking officer at Truist. "We're here to
support them with the right products, resources and expertise to
help them do what they do best – serve our communities and make
them stronger."
Showing Care for Small Businesses
Truist offers exclusive products and benefits for small business
clients to help them grow their businesses, serve others, and build
a secure future for themselves and their families, including:
- Dynamic Business Checking: Clients get more
discounts, loyalty bonuses, and waived fees as their account
balances grow. And small business clients with a Truist One
Checking (personal account) automatically qualify for the Premier
Level when they link it to a Dynamic Business Checking
account.
- Simple Business Loan: Unsecured small business loan up
to $50,000 with a competitive rate
and no origination fee.
- Financial Education: Seminars facilitated by local
branch leaders and/or virtual small business consultants to provide
education on financial management and networking
opportunities.
The commitment to small businesses goes deeper than finances.
Here are some additional ways Truist, Truist Charitable Fund, and
Truist Foundation are spreading Care to small businesses through
partnerships:
- Community partnerships that strengthen small
businesses—including SCORE, Operation HOPE's 1
Million Black Businesses.
- Strategic investments in BIPOC-owned small businesses through
Truist Foundation.
- Partnerships with Community Development Financial
Institutions (CDFIs) that help with lending.
About Truist
Truist Financial Corporation is a
purpose-driven financial services company committed to inspiring
and building better lives and communities. Truist has leading
market share in many high-growth markets in the country and offers
a wide range of products and services through our retail and small
business banking, commercial banking, corporate and investment
banking, insurance, wealth management, and specialized lending
businesses. Headquartered in Charlotte,
North Carolina, Truist is a top 10 U.S. commercial bank with
total assets of $574 billion as of
March 31, 2023. Truist Bank, Member
FDIC. Learn more at Truist.com.
About Truist Foundation
Truist Foundation is committed
to Truist Financial Corporation's (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire
and build better lives and communities. Established in 2020, the
foundation makes strategic investments in nonprofit organizations
to help ensure the communities it serves have more opportunities
for a better quality of life. Truist Foundation's grants and
activities focus on building career pathways to economic mobility
and strengthening small businesses. Learn more at
truist.com/foundation.
About Truist Charitable Fund
The Truist Charitable
Fund is a donor-advised fund advised by Truist and administered by
The Winston-Salem Foundation.
1 A 20-minute online interview
from February 13, 2023 – March 7, 2023, with
businesses that met the following qualifying criteria:
- Geographically representative of U.S. businesses within each
revenue sub-group
- Work in a relevant industry, excluding financial
services/insurance, not for profits/religious and government
organizations
- Company's annual revenue is between $100K to less than $2MM
- Sole decision maker for financial decisions, or strongly
influences decisions
- 518 total unweighted interviews:
- 265 lower revenue small businesses (annual revenue between
$100K up to $999K)
- 253 upper revenue small businesses (annual revenue between $1MM
up to $2MM)
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SOURCE Truist Financial Corporation