63% of American Small Business Owners Raised Wages to Fight the Great Resignation According to Guidant

Guidant releases the latest results from its annual Small Business Trends report.

BOISE, Idaho, April 7, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The top two Great Resignation strategies of American small business owners were increasing compensation (63%) and employee retention (33%), according to the results of the latest Small Business Trends report released by small business financing company Guidant Financial. Other predominant strategies included expanded advertising (23%), increasing benefits (18%), and hiring bonuses (16%).

The report's findings are based on the annual Small Business Trends survey conducted by Guidant Financial.

"Starting a small business has always been hard work, but the past few years have been exceptionally challenging. We owe a lot to the small business owners that have persevered through it all — they're on the front lines defending the American economy," said Jeremy Ames, President of Guidant Financial.

More Key Findings:
The Great Resignation

• 47% of businesses report insufficient job applicants, and 30% report experiencing head-hunting competition from competitors.
• According to respondents, communication and critical thinking are the most commonly lacked skills in existing small business applicants.
• Business owners that raised wages were slightly more likely to be profitable (70%) compared to those that did not (65%).
• Despite challenges, 75% of business owners report being somewhat or very happy. 15% were somewhat or very unhappy. The remaining 10% were neutral.

Business Owners

• The majority of businesses were split evenly between Boomers (45%) and Gen X (46%). Millennials made up 7% of those surveyed, while Gen Z — also called Zoomers — and Post War Era business owners were both less than 1%.
• Women small business owners made up only 22% of survey respondents this year.
• 32% of small business owners did not belong to or feel represented by any political party. 41% identified as Republican, and 22% percent identified as Democratic. Less than 6% identified with another party.

State of Affairs

• The top three priorities were increasing staff (51%), expanding, or remodeling their business (41%), and investing in digital marketing (40%).
• 69% of franchisees own locations less than 5 years old (or in the process of opening).
• Behind recruitment (70%), small business owners most common problems were changing operations in response to COVID-19 (32%), lack of capital/cash flow (32%), and administrative work (23%).

COVID-Related Findings

• 54% of all business owners feel the effects of the pandemic are not over, and yet 84% of business owners expect their business to survive the pandemic.
• Most respondents reported feeling somewhat or very confident (46.74%) about the future. Just over 27% of business owners reported feeling somewhat unconfident, and a minority 7.56% of business owners reported feeling very unconfident.

Methodology
The report's findings are based on Guidant's annual survey, reaching out to the resilient, hardworking small business owners of America. It learns who they are, what their lives as small business owners are like, what their plans for the future are, and how their business has weathered current affairs. Guidant Financial conducted the email survey from January 24th and February 13th with over 600 current and aspiring small business owners nationwide taking part.

About Guidant
Guidant helps business owners secure financing to start, buy, or grow a business. An industry leader in business and franchise financing, Guidant works with new and existing entrepreneurs to identify, evaluate, and deploy customized financing solutions. Their services include, but are not limited to, 401(k) business funding, SBA loans, unsecured credit, portfolio loans. In total, Guidant has helped over 25,000 entrepreneurs in all 50 states to invest more than $4 billion in funds to start small businesses, resulting in more than 85,000 U.S. jobs created. Visit Guidant at guidantfinancial.com.

About the Small Business Trends Series
The Small Business Trends Series was started by Guidant in 2014, and is designed to support small businesses with data trends and insights. These data-backed insights are intended to help small business owners confidently make key decisions, and to bring transparency to small business for prospective entrepreneurs to learn more about their options.

Media Contact

Stacia Kirby, kirby communications, 206-478-5841, [email protected]

SOURCE Guidant Financial