Last fall, I conducted a survey to evaluate the level of satisfaction that small business owners experience in running their businesses in today's harsh economic climate.
At the same time, I wanted to encourage them to reflect upon how they manage their time in the work environment.
The summary of selected results presented below reflects the responses of the entire surveyed group as well as the responses of two subsets of this group: solopreneurs (people working alone) and women.
One hundred and fifty six (156) persons responded to the survey.
Of these, 70% of respondents were men and 30% were women.
Seventy-three percent (73%) of all respondents work in home-based businesses, and 51% of all respondents work alone (solopreneurs).
Eighty-nine percent (89%) of solopreneurs and 81% of women responding to the survey work in home-based businesses, compared to the overall group.
Sixty-six percent (66%) of the women responding declared themselves to be solopreneurs.
Sixty-six percent (66%) of respondents were between 40 and 59 years of age.
Of 156 survey respondents, 62 (40%) view operating a small business very favorably, 37 (24%) view it exceedingly favorably, and 8 (5%) respondents view it unfavorably.
Out of 55 solopreneurs, 20 (36%) view small business operation very favorably, 16 (29%) view it exceedingly favorably, and 3 (6%) view it unfavorably.
Among women (32 respondents), 15 view this very favorably, 8 view it exceedingly favorably, and none view it unfavorably.
Thirty-three percent (33%) of all respondents reported that they work 8-10 hours every day, and another 33% reported that they work 10-12 hours per day.
A slightly higher percentage of solopreneurs (36%) work 8-10 hours a day, while 26% report working 10-12 hours per day.
Interestingly, more women respondents work 4-6 hours per day than 8-10 hours per day (25% versus 22%, respectively).
Thirty-one percent (31%) of women respondents said they work 10-12 hours daily.
Among the overall group, 65% of respondents report that managing time effectively is very challenging to exceedingly challenging for small business owners in general, whereas only 50% indicate that it is similarly challenging for them personally.
For solopreneurs, 75% of those responding to this question find time management to be very to exceedingly challenging for the industry, while 49% find it personally challenging at the same levels.
Seventy-two percent (72%) of women declared that time management is very or exceedingly challenging for small business owners, while 56% indicate a similar constraint for themselves.
The overall group views procrastination (22%; 26 respondents), prioritizing tasks (20%; 24 respondents), and delegating tasks/"other" (15% for each category) as its major time management challenges.
Similarly, solopreneurs indicate that prioritization (25%), procrastination (24%), and delegating tasks (14%) are their major challenges.
Women once again reported different results, with "other" being cited as their primary time management challenge, followed by prioritization (22%) and delegating tasks (19%).
Procrastination was only cited by 12% of women as being their biggest challenge.
Sixty-six percent (66%) of all respondents agree or strongly agree that they can improve the profitability of their business by improving their time management skills, and 26% indicate that they are willing to undertake time management training.
In the solopreneur subset, 69% agree or strongly agree with this concept, and 20% of respondents indicate willingness to be trained in time management.
Most women (66%) agree or strongly agree that profitability improves with better time management, and 19% expressed willingness to participate in training.
Overall, most respondents find time management to be a challenge for small business owners in general and for themselves in particular.
Though many believe that they can improve the profitability of their businesses by improving their time management skills, fewer are willing to undergo time management training to achieve this goal.
At the same time, I wanted to encourage them to reflect upon how they manage their time in the work environment.
The summary of selected results presented below reflects the responses of the entire surveyed group as well as the responses of two subsets of this group: solopreneurs (people working alone) and women.
One hundred and fifty six (156) persons responded to the survey.
Of these, 70% of respondents were men and 30% were women.
Seventy-three percent (73%) of all respondents work in home-based businesses, and 51% of all respondents work alone (solopreneurs).
Eighty-nine percent (89%) of solopreneurs and 81% of women responding to the survey work in home-based businesses, compared to the overall group.
Sixty-six percent (66%) of the women responding declared themselves to be solopreneurs.
Sixty-six percent (66%) of respondents were between 40 and 59 years of age.
Of 156 survey respondents, 62 (40%) view operating a small business very favorably, 37 (24%) view it exceedingly favorably, and 8 (5%) respondents view it unfavorably.
Out of 55 solopreneurs, 20 (36%) view small business operation very favorably, 16 (29%) view it exceedingly favorably, and 3 (6%) view it unfavorably.
Among women (32 respondents), 15 view this very favorably, 8 view it exceedingly favorably, and none view it unfavorably.
Thirty-three percent (33%) of all respondents reported that they work 8-10 hours every day, and another 33% reported that they work 10-12 hours per day.
A slightly higher percentage of solopreneurs (36%) work 8-10 hours a day, while 26% report working 10-12 hours per day.
Interestingly, more women respondents work 4-6 hours per day than 8-10 hours per day (25% versus 22%, respectively).
Thirty-one percent (31%) of women respondents said they work 10-12 hours daily.
Among the overall group, 65% of respondents report that managing time effectively is very challenging to exceedingly challenging for small business owners in general, whereas only 50% indicate that it is similarly challenging for them personally.
For solopreneurs, 75% of those responding to this question find time management to be very to exceedingly challenging for the industry, while 49% find it personally challenging at the same levels.
Seventy-two percent (72%) of women declared that time management is very or exceedingly challenging for small business owners, while 56% indicate a similar constraint for themselves.
The overall group views procrastination (22%; 26 respondents), prioritizing tasks (20%; 24 respondents), and delegating tasks/"other" (15% for each category) as its major time management challenges.
Similarly, solopreneurs indicate that prioritization (25%), procrastination (24%), and delegating tasks (14%) are their major challenges.
Women once again reported different results, with "other" being cited as their primary time management challenge, followed by prioritization (22%) and delegating tasks (19%).
Procrastination was only cited by 12% of women as being their biggest challenge.
Sixty-six percent (66%) of all respondents agree or strongly agree that they can improve the profitability of their business by improving their time management skills, and 26% indicate that they are willing to undertake time management training.
In the solopreneur subset, 69% agree or strongly agree with this concept, and 20% of respondents indicate willingness to be trained in time management.
Most women (66%) agree or strongly agree that profitability improves with better time management, and 19% expressed willingness to participate in training.
Overall, most respondents find time management to be a challenge for small business owners in general and for themselves in particular.
Though many believe that they can improve the profitability of their businesses by improving their time management skills, fewer are willing to undergo time management training to achieve this goal.
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