Eight of Ten Small Business Owners Do Not Plan to Retire
December 20 2005 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
New Wells Fargo/Gallup Survey Finds Four of Ten Small Business
Owners Will Cut Back on Work But Stay Involved SAN FRANCISCO, Dec.
20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Many workers may dream of retiring at
65 but a new Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index finds that
eight of ten small business owners surveyed are happy running their
businesses and have no intention of retiring. In fact, almost four
out of every ten say the only thing that would force them to retire
is their health. "We started this business with our hearts and our
minds and are extremely passionate about its success. It would be
very difficult to just walk away from what we have built and
'retire' completely," said Nancy Fe Tom, owner of The Architectural
Company in Tucson, Arizona. "I will always have an interest in the
success of this company and will be committed to continuing that
success for as long as I can." Forty-two percent of small business
owners surveyed indicate they may cut back on work, but will never
completely abandon their business. The Index also shows that almost
two-thirds of small business owners expect their business to
continue operating after they have retired. Only 19 percent plan on
traditional retirement. Of those business owners who expect their
businesses to carry on beyond their working years, 41 percent
expect someone in their family to keep the business going.
Additionally, 34 percent expect to sell their business to someone
from outside the business, and 21 percent say they will sell it to
one or more employees in the business, who are not family members.
"Small business owners have a different definition of the word
'retirement'," said Rebecca Macieira-Kaufmann, executive vice
president and small business segment manager for Wells Fargo.
"Since many are living their dreams and love what they do, they do
not want to stop working. This survey shows that more than ever
they're dedicated to the success of their business. It's their
passion and they want to stay engaged in their business as long as
possible." The Index tracks six key measures for both current
conditions and future expectations as reported by small business
owners: current financial situation, revenues, cash flow, capital
spending, number of jobs, and credit availability. Since the third
quarter of 2003, the Index has surveyed small business owners on
their perception of current conditions and future expectations
relating to financial situation, revenues, cash flow, capital
spending, number of jobs and credit availability. About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services
company with $453 billion in assets, providing banking, insurance,
investments, mortgage and consumer finance to more than 23 million
customers from more than 6,200 stores and the internet
(wellsfargo.com) across North America and elsewhere
internationally. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is the only bank in the
United States to receive the highest possible credit rating, "Aaa,"
from Moody's Investors Service. Providing financial products and
services to more than one million businesses with annual sales up
to $20 million in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Canada, Wells
Fargo is the #1 lender to small businesses in the United States in
total dollar volume according to the most recent CRA data (2004).
The second largest national SBA lender in dollars, Wells Fargo is
an SBA Preferred Lender in 30 states and the District of Columbia,
and originated 4,165 loans for $579 million in 2005. Its diverse
business services programs provide outreach and education to women,
African American, Latino, and Asian business owners about financial
services. Since 1995, Wells Fargo has loaned more than $28 billion
to women and minority business owners. About the Gallup
Organization For more than 60 years, the Gallup Organization has
been a recognized leader in the measurement and analysis of
people's attitudes, opinions and behavior. While best known for the
Gallup Poll, founded in 1935, Gallup's current activities consist
largely of providing marketing and management research, advisory
services and education to the world's largest corporations and
institutions. DATASOURCE: Wells Fargo CONTACT: Sarah Pew of Wells
Fargo, +1-415-396-0866, or Web site: http://www.wellsfargo.com/
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