FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla.,
Aug. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/
-- Florida small businesses are on track to meet or exceed
their revenue goals for 2015, according to the second annual
Florida Small Business Pulse Check, a regionally focused survey by
TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®, that
includes questions to better understand the small business outlook
in South and Central Florida. TD
Bank asked business owners about their revenue goals, hiring
expectations, financing needs, impact of tourism, business optimism
and the influence of the U.S. economy on their business.
Nearly half of respondents (46 percent) are feeling optimistic
and think it is going to be a good year for their business, with 16
percent saying it will be their best year yet. Revenue projections
also are looking strong for Florida's small businesses, with 52 percent on
track to meet their revenue goals in 2015, and 29 percent expecting
to exceed their goals, compared with 28 percent who reported such
expectations in 2014.
Contributing to this optimistic outlook is an easing of negative
impact from the national economy on the state's small businesses.
While last year 55 percent of respondents said the state of the
U.S. economy had a negative impact on their business, just 39
percent of Florida business owners
feel the same way in 2015 — highlighting a significant improvement
year-over-year.
Building on this year's positive business outlook trend, nearly
half of Florida business owners
(49 percent) plan to grow their revenue/sales in the next 12
months, and indicated their highest priority for 2015 is expanding
their product/service offerings (37 percent). Despite these growth
plans, the majority of survey respondents do not intend to increase
hiring, with 76 percent stating they are planning to keep staffing
levels the same.
"Small businesses in Central and South
Florida no longer feel constrained by the national economy,
and are once again pulling ahead in performance," said Ernie Diaz, Regional President of Florida, TD Bank. "It's encouraging to see
this strong optimism among small business owners."
Tourism Not a Strong Factor for State's Small
Businesses
Tourism is one of Florida's
core industries, but for small business owners, it is a very small
piece of the pie.
- More than three-quarters of respondents (77 percent) say their
businesses do not rely on tourism or seasonal residents, and 55
percent report that their earnings/revenue remains steady
throughout the year.
- Of the 23 percent of businesses that do rely on tourism or
seasonal residents, 65 percent are owned by women, compared with 35
percent owned by men.
- Of those businesses with seasonal or inconsistent revenue, 33
percent of businesses reported winter (December-February) as their
highest revenue season, while summer (June-August) was the slimmest
season, with just 17 percent taking in the majority of their
business revenue during those months.
- Business owners also have different business management tactics
during seasons of lower revenue, with 46 percent stretching out
savings, 22 percent reducing or hiring staff as needed, 6 percent
relying on a line of credit, and 35 percent without particular
revenue management methods.
Optimism Fluctuates County-by-County
While Florida small business
owners are feeling more positive about their business prospects
overall, there is a difference in outlook between Central and
South Florida.
- More than half of Central
Florida owners (53 percent) are feeling optimistic, compared
with only 40 percent of South
Florida respondents.
- Business owners in Central
Florida are more likely to exceed their revenue goals than
their counterparts down South, at 31 percent vs. 28 percent of
respondents, respectively.
- Along with this growth, 15 percent of Central Florida small businesses report they
intend to add employees, compared with 11 percent in South Florida.
Credit Needs Comparable Across Florida
When it comes to current and future financial decisions,
businesses in both Central and South
Florida show a similar need to access loans or credit. This
need has grown year-over-year in Central
Florida, increasing from 18 percent in 2014 to 23 percent in
2015, with South Florida remaining
fairly flat at 23 percent compared with 24 percent in 2014.
Businesses do differ on how they plan to use these financial
products. In Central Florida,
business owners indicated they would apply for a loan/line of
credit for office supplies or materials (34 percent) and business
travel (31 percent), while South
Florida owners said their highest credit needs include
product/equipment costs (35 percent) and marketing/advertising (24
percent).
Additionally, the majority of Florida business owners (60 percent) will
consider their primary financial institutions if their business has
additional credit or financing needs.
"It's encouraging that more businesses are reporting plans to
expand, and that they will seek financing to fuel this growth,"
Diaz said. "We encourage small business owners to have a
conversation with their bankers about the best types of financing
for their needs and how to best use credit."
TD Bank operates in more than 150 locations in Florida, and offers a wide array of commercial
and small business banking and loan products including business
checking accounts, corporate credit cards, cash management and
payment processing, working capital loans, real estate mortgages,
bond purchases and equipment leases. Visit www.tdbank.com for more
information.
Survey Methodology
Vision Critical conducted the survey of 250 small business
owners for TD Bank in July 2015
across eight counties in Central
Florida (Orange,
Seminole, Osceola, Polk, Hillsborough, Pinellas counties) and South Florida (Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm
Beach counties). Included were small businesses of
$5 million or less in revenue. The
Florida Small Business Pulse check has a margin of error of +/- 6.2
percent.
About Vision Critical
Vision Critical provides a cloud-based customer intelligence
platform that helps companies build engaged, secure communities of
customers they can use continuously, across the enterprise, for
ongoing, real-time feedback and insight.
About TD Bank, America's Most Convenient
Bank®
TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 10
largest banks in the U.S., providing more than 8 million customers
with a full range of retail, small business and commercial banking
products and services at approximately 1,300 convenient locations
throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas
and Florida. In addition, TD Bank
and its subsidiaries offer customized private banking and wealth
management services through TD Wealth®, and vehicle financing and
dealer commercial services through TD Auto Finance. TD Bank is
headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J.
To learn more, visit www.tdbank.com. Find TD Bank on Facebook
at www.facebook.com/TDBank and on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/TDBank_US.
TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank
Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services
company in North America. The
Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New
York and Toronto stock
exchanges under the ticker symbol "TD". To learn more, visit
www.td.com.
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SOURCE TD Bank