Vistaprint Survey Shows Small Businesses Owners' Primary Concern is Uncertainty over the Economy

VENLO, the Netherlands - Vistaprint N.V., a leading online provider of professional marketing products and services to micro businesses and the home, today revealed the results of its quarterly "Small Business Happiness Index." The index gauges micro business owner sentiment and provides insights on topics that include their overall happiness, customer growth, and revenue. Additionally with the election less than a week away, small business owners who were surveyed revealed how their interests are being represented and addressed in the election campaigns.

The survey showed that 73 percent of small business owners feel the upcoming election is important to their business, and a little over half (54 percent) of respondents revealed that their interests and concerns as a small business owner have not been well represented in the election. Additionally, 45 percent feel that neither candidate has a strong plan for helping small business owners.

The number one concern of small business owners is uncertainty over economic conditions (44 percent), followed by federal taxes on small business (22 percent), the cost of health care (18 percent) and unreasonable government regulations (17 percent). Small business owners reported that 45 percent will cast their vote based on the candidate's plan for small business, while 20 percent are still undecided.

"Although small business owners have expressed concern regarding the upcoming election and how it will affect their business, the survey results indicated that they continue to be optimistic about their companies' performances and revenue growth." said Don LeBlanc, chief marketing officer for Vistaprint. "It is always encouraging to see that based on our traditional survey questions, small business owners are happy running their own businesses and that the majority of these businesses are on track to reach their revenue goals for the year."

The quarterly survey generated nearly 1,500 responses from U.S. based micro businesses (businesses with between 1-10 employees) and revealed that the vast majority of micro business owners are optimistic about running their own businesses, with 75 percent reporting that they are happy. More than half of respondents reported that they are on track to make or exceed their original revenue goals for the year.

Vistaprint conducts regular surveys with its U.S. micro business customer base, defined as small businesses with between 1-10 employees that primarily work out of their homes and generate less than $100,000 annually in revenues. This online survey was conducted from October 28 to November 3, 2012 with nearly 1,500 total respondents and a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.

While the Small Business Happiness Index offers insight about the sentiment of micro businesses generally, it does not indicate or represent changes in Vistaprint's business results for any period.