If companies' blueprints for expansion are a reliable indicator of their plans to enhance employee benefits needed to recruit and retain workers, then 2017 should be a good year for agents and advisors serving the small-business markets.
The reason for this optimism: the "2017 Small Business Outlook" report, published by Chicago-based Insureon's Small Business Institute. Insureon, which sells business insurance, said it polled 1,006 small-business owners using Google Surveys.
Insureon found that 82% of small-business owners plan to grow their companies in 2017. Among the actions to be taken:
- 58% expect to buy new equipment or furniture.
- 33% plan to hire an employee.
- 23% will move to a new location.
- 30% will offer a new service.
- 34% plan to sell a new product.
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The report observes, however, differences in growth plans by gender. For example, of the 18% of small-business owners who have no growth plans, nearly 7 in 10 (68%) are women. That equates to 25% of all women business owners who have no growth plans, more than the double the 11% of male-owned small businesses in the same camp.
Also noteworthy: For most types of growth (for example, non-service-related), the population density of a business owner's region (urban, rural or suburban) has no bearing on growth plans. But the survey finds that urban business owners are about 1.7 times more likely than their rural counterparts to begin a new service next year.
For every dollar a full-time male employee earns, women earn 80 cents on the dollar. A comparable pay gap exists between male- and female-owned businesses, the Insureon survey finds. (Photo: Thinkstock)
Additional survey findings
- There continues to be a gender pay gap. For every dollar a full-time male employee earns, women earn 80 cents on the dollar. A comparable pay gap exists between male- and female-owned businesses.
- The women surveyed are three times more likely than the men to earn less than $25,000 per year. While only 3% of men reported earnings in this category, 8% of women did.
- Men are twice as likely as women to report revenue in the highest bracket ($150,000-plus). Fourteen percent of male-owned businesses fall into this range, compared with just 7% female-owned firms.
- While 32% of women-owned businesses and 19% of men-owned businesses earn less than $50,000 annually, 34% of the latter and 20% of the former earn more than $100,000 annually.
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