According to the third-annual California
Bank & Trust Small Business survey, an overwhelming majority of
respondents (86%) felt that their business was moving in the right
direction with 87% expecting growth over the next year and 65% expecting
growth of 5% or more over the next 12 months. Additionally, 63% of
respondents expected growth to increase year-over-year. Interestingly,
the Los Angeles region is slightly more bullish than the Bay Area and
San Diego, with 43% of small business owners expecting a growth rate of
more than 10% over the next 12 months compared to 38% in the Bay Area
and 26% in the San Diego region.
Tory Nixon, California Bank & Trust, Executive Vice President, Small Business Lending (Photo: Business Wire)
California Bank & Trust fielded its third-annual benchmark survey to
gauge the thoughts and opinions of California’s small business owners.
More than 680 small business owners throughout the state of California
shared their opinions during the survey conducted in April 2014.
California Bank & Trust also surveyed small businesses on current
regulatory and environmental conditions and the impact of these
circumstances on their business. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (63%)
in this year’s survey said the Affordable Care Act has had a neutral or
positive impact on their business. In addition, 72% of small businesses
said the rise in the minimum wage would have a neutral or positive
effect on their business while 59% said the drought would have no affect
on their business.
“What our 2014 small business survey illustrates is that many California
small businesses are in a unique position to capitalize on growth
opportunities and weather larger macroeconomic changes,” said Tory
Nixon, Executive Vice President, Small Business Lending, California Bank
& Trust. “Small businesses are shrugging off these regulatory changes
and environmental concerns and are quite optimistic about the future
growth of their business.”
“The growth rates echo what we are experiencing with our banking
businesses throughout California,” added Nixon. “We are seeing increased
demand across the board for commercial and small business lending, cash
management, international banking, merchant services, online and mobile
banking and wealth management services. This activity underscores an
increased need for capital to support the growth plans of small
businesses.”
Additional highlights from the survey include:
-
Areas of Investment. Small businesses are planning to make
significant capital investments over the next 12 months. Eighty-four
percent of small businesses surveyed are planning to invest more or
the same amount in technology over the next 12 months, just over 70%
in both online marketing and equipment, and 66% in social media.
-
Hiring. More than half of small businesses surveyed plan to
hire additional employees in 2014. Ninety-two percent plan to hire
1-10 additional workers with one-quarter or 25% of this group planning
to hire 5-10 employees.
-
E-Commerce & Online Presence. An online presence continues
to be significant for small businesses throughout the State.
Ninety-six percent of respondents have a website, just over 60%
currently use digital marketing techniques to promote their business
and over 52% said an e-commerce online presence was “extremely
important” or “very important.” Interestingly, when asked the primary
source of sales growth, an overwhelming majority (74%) said
traditional sales.
-
Social Media. Nearly 60% of respondents maintain a social media
presence for their business and 34% are increasing their investment in
this communication medium.
-
Succession Planning. Almost 90% of those surveyed have a
succession plan in place, saying they would pass on their business to
a friend or family member (30%), sell business to employees (16%) and
sell their business to the highest bidder (43%).
-
Financing. Close to 35% of small businesses surveyed are
expected to need financing over the next 12 months with 49% saying
that bank loans are their primary source of funding.
-
Banking. The most common usage of online banking includes
accessing account information/resources (78%) and conducting
transactions (67%). In addition, “competitive rates,” “customer
service” and “payment and term options” were the most important
factors when looking for a loan provider, above “industry knowledge,”
“regional knowledge” and well beyond “government backing.”
-
International Sales. Thirty-eight percent of California small
businesses derive sales from international markets with 9% saying
international markets accounted for over 25% of their sales.
“The comprehensive results of our survey showcase a clearly different
environment in California for small businesses than 2013,” added Nixon.
“Businesses are optimistic, expect healthy grow rates, are making
capital investments and leveraging new technologies to market and sell
their products. As a central partner to many small businesses throughout
California, California Bank & Trust provides financial solutions to meet
their needs and support their growth plans.”
About California Bank & Trust
California Bank & Trust, a subsidiary of Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ:
ZION), is one of the largest banks headquartered in California with over
$10 billion in assets and nearly 100 branches statewide. CB&T provides
a full array of financial solutions for businesses and individuals,
including commercial
banking, business
banking, small business lending, cash management, international
banking and wealth management. The professional bankers at CB&T are
backed by major resources, yet maintain local-decision making authority
and regional market and industry expertise. They are committed to
providing clients with valuable business and economic insights and to
connecting them with the beneficial business relationships they need to
succeed. Since 2002, CB&T has been rated by the FDIC as “outstanding”
for its Community Reinvestment Act activities. CB&T has
also consistently won the Greenwich Excellence Awards for Business
Banking. To learn more, visit www.calbanktrust.com.
Connect with California Bank & Trust on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
About the Survey
California Bank & Trust surveyed more than 680 respondents in California
online in April 2014. The small businesses were defined for the survey
as having $10 million or less in annual revenues and employees of 50
people or less. For the complete findings of the survey, please click here.
Media Please Note:
For further detail about California Bank & Trust’s survey
results, Small
Business Banking, to schedule an interview with Tory Nixon, or to
request high-resolution photography, please contact Douglas Myers at
Landis Communications, Inc.: (415-359-2303; doug@landispr.com).
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