Gateway To Success: St. Louis Small Business Owners In Growth Mode
April 29 2016 - 7:33AM
Business Wire
The Hartford’s study finds local owners hiring more than
national peers
The majority of small business owners across the nation are
looking to maintain their business at its current size, however, in
the city of St. Louis owners are looking to significantly grow
their business, according to The Hartford’s 2015 Small Business
Success Study.
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View the full release here:
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“At The Hartford, it is important for us to understand
everything we can about the small business owners we insure in
order to better prepare and protect them from the unexpected,” said
Stephanie Bush, executive vice president, Small Commercial
insurance at The Hartford. “We also know how critical small
businesses are to the local community. As a St. Louis native, I am
excited to see the impact the entrepreneurial spirit is having in
my home city.”
The study found that 56 percent of St. Louis owners are looking
to grow significantly, which includes a large increase in sales,
revenue, the number of employees and the hours they work, compared
with 33 percent of national owners. Fifty-five percent of small
business owners nationally would rather maintain their business at
its current size compared with only 39 percent of owners in St.
Louis.
Although St. Louis small business owners are focused on growing
their business, the study found that 77 percent of St. Louis owners
say they are conservative in the overall level of risk they are
taking with their business, which is consistent with their national
peers.
Hiring, Feeling SuccessfulThe focus on growth has carried
over to hiring for St. Louis business owners – the study found that
54 percent of owners said they have hired in the past 12 months,
significantly more than owners nationally (35 percent). About 60
percent of those who have hired recently have hired all they wanted
to and 40 percent have not hired as much as they would have
liked.
Of those who have not hired or not hired as much as they would
have liked, 36 percent say it’s because they are taking on the
additional responsibilities themselves, compared to 26 percent
nationally. Thirty-two percent cite a lack of qualified talent,
compared to 17 percent nationally.
The study also found that 83 percent of St. Louis owners say
they feel successful about how their business is operating now,
compared with 73 percent nationally. The top three things local
owners say are important to their definition of success are: to do
something I feel passionate about or enjoy (82 percent), to make
enough money to have a comfortable lifestyle (72 percent) and to
increase the profitability of the business (70 percent).
Panel Discussion Today: Marketing Your Small BusinessThe
Hartford will host a panel discussion today,“Taking a Lead –
Marketing Your Small Business in the St. Louis Community”, which
will take place at Busch Stadium at 8:30 a.m. CT. The discussion
will also highlight the key findings from The Hartford’s Small
Business Success Study findings in St. Louis.
Panelists include:
- Dan Farrell, senior vice president,
Sales and Marketing, St. Louis Cardinals
- Gene Marks, small business owner,
columnist and best-selling author
- Stephanie Bush, executive vice
president of Small Commercial insurance, The Hartford
- Tim Barklage, CEO and co-founder,
Better Life
Media is invited to attend today’s event.
SBSS MetholodologyBraun Research and Ketchum Global
Research & Analytics conducted a telephone survey among small
business owners in St. Louis and across the United States for The
Hartford’s Small Business Success Study. A total of 2,003
interviews were completed nationally, as well as an oversample of
300 in the St. Louis, MO Designated Market Area (DMA) with owners
of for-profit businesses with fewer than 100 full-time employees
that have been in business for at least one year. One owner,
co-owner, principle owner or sole owner per business was
interviewed. The interviews were conducted between July 7-16, 2015.
The National margin of error is ± 2.1 percentage points, St. Louis
margin of error is ± 5.7 percentage points.
For more information on these survey results, visit
www.thehartford.com/successstudy.
For more news about The Hartford, visit:
http://newsroom.thehartford.com/.
About The HartfordWith more than 200 years of expertise,
The Hartford (NYSE:HIG) is a leader in property and casualty
insurance, group benefits and mutual funds. The company is widely
recognized for its service excellence, sustainability practices,
trust and integrity. More information on the company and its
financial performance is available at www.thehartford.com. Join us
on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheHartford. Follow us on Twitter
at www.twitter.com/TheHartford_PR.
HIG-C
Some of the statements in this release may be considered
forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We caution investors that these
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance, and actual results may differ materially. Investors
should consider the important risks and uncertainties that may
cause actual results to differ. These important risks and
uncertainties include those discussed in our 2015 Annual Report on
Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-Q, and the
other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
We assume no obligation to update this release, which speaks as of
the date issued.
From time to time, The Hartford may use its website to
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160429005114/en/
Media Contacts:The HartfordDebora Raymond,
860-547-4611debora.raymond@thehartford.comorJeffrey Welch,
860-547-7623jeffrey.welch@thehartford.com
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