Bank of America Survey Finds Women Small Business Owners More Optimistic Compared to Men on Revenue and Growth Outlook
August 03 2016 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Women Small Business Owners Divided on Limits
of the Glass Ceiling
Women small business owners are feeling more optimistic about
annual revenue and growth expectations than their male
counterparts, according to the inaugural Bank of America Women
Business Owner Spotlight, a study based on a survey of 1,000 small
business owners across the country, focusing on the aspirations and
pain points of women business owners.
According to the study, 54 percent of women entrepreneurs expect
their revenue to increase over the next 12 months, compared to 48
percent of male small business owners. In addition, 60 percent of
women business owners expect to grow their business over the next
five years (vs. 52 percent of men). The two main sources of funding
used by women entrepreneurs as they grow include their business
credit card (28 percent) and bank funding (23 percent).
Year over year, women small business owners’ confidence has
largely remained steady as their male counterparts’ confidence has
declined. The number of male entrepreneurs who expect revenue to
increase over the next 12 months has declined by 18 percentage
points, and the number planning to grow their business over the
next five years fell by 16 percentage points since spring 2015.
Women’s revenue expectations and growth plans remained steady year
over year, declining by 3 percentage points or less.
“Female entrepreneurs are excited about the future and focused
on the success of their small businesses. They are demonstrating
much greater levels of optimism than their male counterparts,” said
Sharon Miller, managing director, head of Small Business, Bank of
America. “However, women small business owners do express concerns
about certain areas, which they are taking into account as they
continue to grow.”
Women small business owners say glass ceiling exists, but
split on whether it limits their opportunities
A majority of both women (77 percent) and men (56 percent) small
business owners surveyed believe the glass ceiling exists for some
women and minorities. Despite a strong majority acknowledging the
glass ceiling, women business owners are split on whether it
directly affects them. While 54 percent of female entrepreneurs
don’t feel impacted, 46 percent have felt limited by the glass
ceiling at some point in their careers.
Despite that, the majority of female small business owners
believe they have the same access as their male counterparts to
clients (79 percent) and outside resources (75 percent). However,
28 percent still feel they do not have the same access to capital
as their male counterparts, and 25 percent say they don’t have the
same access to new business.
When it comes to hiring or managing staff, 79 percent of female
entrepreneurs say they experience the same challenges compared to
men, with an additional 8 percent saying they experience fewer
challenges than their male counterparts.
Female small business owners feeling empowered and
successful
When asked how being a small business owner makes them feel, 49
percent of female small business owners surveyed said it makes them
feel empowered, 10 percentage points higher than their male
counterparts. Fifty-four percent of women stated that it makes them
feel successful, and more female small business owners reported it
makes them feel more content (35 percent), than stressed (33
percent).
Fifty-one percent of women entrepreneurs said they started their
own business because they wanted to be their own boss, and 20
percent did so because they wanted to excel financially. Only 8
percent of women small business owners started their business
because they were unhappy in their previous job.
Economic concerns impacting women small business
owners
While both women and men small business owners share similar
views on top economic concerns over the next 12 months, more women
small business owners are concerned about:
- Corporate tax rates (54 percent of
women vs. 45 percent of men).
- Strength of the U.S. dollar (59 percent
of women vs. 45 percent of men).
- Commodities prices (52 percent of women
vs. 44 percent of men).
Women small business owners are more likely to support raising
the minimum wage; 55 percent of women entrepreneurs think raising
the minimum wage would have a positive impact on the economy,
compared to only 41 percent of men.
Bank of America Women Business Owner SpotlightGfK Public Affairs
and Corporate Communications conducted the Bank of America Women
Business Owner Spotlight Survey for the summer 2016 online between
March 17 and April 19, 2016 using a pre-recruited online sample of
small business owners. GfK contacted a national sample of 1,000
small business owners in the United States with annual revenue
between $100,000 and $4,999,999 and employing between 2 and 99
employees.
Bank of AmericaBank of America is one of the world's leading
financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and
middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range
of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and
risk management products and services. The company provides
unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately
47 million consumer and small business relationships with
approximately 4,700 retail financial centers, approximately 16,000
ATMs, and award-winning online banking with approximately 33
million active accounts and more than 20 million mobile active
users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management,
corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range
of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions
and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers
industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business
owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products
and services. The company serves clients through operations in all
50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands,
Puerto Rico and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation
stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
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Reporters May Contact:Don Vecchiarello, Bank of America,
1.980.387.4899don.vecchiarello@bankofamerica.com
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