Washington, DC, October 24, 2006--According to a new National Federation of Independent Business Small-Business Poll on Local Business Climate, small-business owners consider local institutions and attitudes towards enterprise key factors that contribute to a small firm's success.
Nearly two-thirds of the owners surveyed, 65 percent, think their local community has a favorable business climate. Characteristics most valued by Main Street are community support, people working together, a strong customer base, constant growth and expansion in the area, a close-knit community, little government interference, opportunity, diversity and quality of life.
The study delved into key community issues that affect small firms, ranging from the role local institutions play, to values and attitudes, to the decisions that determine a business location. Of those surveyed, 86 percent of businesses are still located in the community where they were founded.
"In the beginning, most businesses operate and market their business in a relatively small geographic area," said NFIB Senior Research Fellow William J. Dennis. "Meaning that the local business climate for a small firm can be critical to a small-business owner's success or failure."
Local communities and institutions are starting to realize what's at stake. Community spirit got the most favorable assessment as an element key to their success. More than two-thirds agreed that, in their own locality, a true community spirit exists. A local business community that works closely together and a local school system that works cooperatively with business groups were each cited by 55 percent of the owners surveyed as important factors contributing to their community.
A majority of small-business owners, 52 percent, agreed that bankers and investors go out of their way to help local businesses, including those trying to start a business. Community groups and organizations also were ranked favorably by 52 percent of those polled. Local news media outlets fared well too.
But local governments earned just the opposite reaction: half felt that these institutions did not make much of an effort to boost entrepreneurs. Responders of the survey said that among the least valued characteristics in a community were government interference and regulation, the cost of doing business and taxes, lack of support or encouragement and resistance to change.
"Typically, those who own and operate America's small firms view the attitudes of local citizens in a favorable light even if they see the local government as an obstacle," Dennis said.
Three-fourths, for example, believe that the local business community is open to newcomers, and nearly two-thirds view the social values and culture of their community as attributes that place importance on the responsibility of the individual to manage his or her own life. But a majority believes that young people do not receive the encouragement necessary to be independent and start their own small enterprise.
Most small employers, the poll found, live close to their enterprises. Forty-seven percent of those responding said the trip to work takes five minutes or less; many walk. More than one-fourth of these operate home-based firms. Another 20 percent get to the business in 10 minutes or less.
Nearly one-fourth of small-business owners surveyed will plan or consider a significant expansion of their business and most, 59 percent, said they plan to do so within their own community. Of those who are looking to locate elsewhere, half noted that business imperatives were pulling them away, while one-fourth said the local business climate was pushing them out.
More than three-fourths have kept the same personal residence from the time they occupied their current business address. Of those who did change addresses, more than half moved closer to the firm.
