CHERRY HILL, N.J., Dec. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- TD Bank, America's
Most Convenient Bank®, has announced the results of its
second annual Small Business Pulse Check, a regionally focused
survey that includes questions on the challenges and opportunities
facing small businesses in the Greater
Philadelphia area. TD Bank asked small business owners in
the tri-state area about their revenue goals for 2014 and 2015,
hiring expectations, financing needs and the influence of the U.S.
economy on their business.
The TD Bank Small Business Pulse Check polled more than 250
small business owners with revenue of $5
million or less in seven South
Jersey counties (Atlantic,
Burlington, Camden, Cape
May, Cumberland,
Gloucester and Salem), five Pennsylvania counties (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Philadelphia and Montgomery) and the state of Delaware.
This year's results found that nearly three-quarters (73
percent) of local small business owners expect to meet or exceed
their projected revenue performance by year-end 2014, up from 69
percent in 2013. More importantly, significantly fewer Philadelphia business owners (47 percent) feel
the national economy has had a negative impact on their business
over the past year compared with 2013 (56 percent). With lingering
economic fears subsiding, 54 percent of Philadelphia small business owners are
projecting revenue and sales growth next year, compared with only
48 percent of those surveyed in 2013.
"Philadelphia area small
business owners are more confident in their operations than they
were at this time last year," said Mike
Carbone, Regional President for TD Bank, metro Philadelphia market. "While the impact of the
U.S. economy remains on the mind of many small business owners,
they are more optimistic than in recent years and looking forward
to growing and investing in their businesses in 2015."
What's in Store for 2015?
Not only are metro
Philadelphia small business owners
expecting to see revenue and sales growth, but according to the
survey 62 percent are optimistic and excited about their business
opportunities for 2015. Thirteen percent of business owners even
indicated 2015 might be their best year to date.
While businesses continue to streamline costs in 2015, 33
percent of small business owners surveyed said expanding their
product or service offering is next year's top priority and will be
essential to revenue growth plans.
Financing Needs
To help fuel this growth, 20 percent
of local small business owners have applied or are planning to
apply for a loan or line of credit in the next 12 months. Of those
business owners with credit needs, nearly half (48 percent) are
seeking financing for working capital support, followed by cash
flow (42 percent) and product /equipment costs (40 percent).
The majority of small business owners (82 percent) indicated
they would go to their primary financial institution if they were
in need of additional credit or financing.
"Despite misconceptions that banks are no longer lending to
small businesses, we are seeing that Philadelphia area business owners are turning
to their primary financial institutions instead of alternative
lenders for their credit needs," said Carbone. "TD Bank is
committed to helping metro Philadelphia business owners grow in 2015 with
affordable and safe financing options."
Additional Survey Findings
- Male-owned small businesses in the Philadelphia metro area are three times as
likely to have applied in the past 12 months or plan to apply in
the coming year for a loan than small businesses owned by a
female.
- When it comes to credit/financing needs, 54 percent of
male-owned small business owners would use the funds for working
capital vs. 67 percent of female-owned business owners that said
they would use the funds for product /equipment costs.
- Despite 2015 revenue and sales growth plans, 69 percent of
Philadelphia businesses plan to
keep staffing levels the same.
Survey Methodology
The study was conducted among a
representative group of small business owners from the Philadelphia area, Southern New Jersey and Delaware between Nov.
10 and 19, 2014. Included were small businesses of
$5 million or less in revenue and 100
employees or less. The sample size of 254 has a margin of error of
+/- 6.1%. The survey was hosted by global research company Vision
Critical.
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.
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.
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SOURCE TD Bank