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Small Business Survey Findings—Executive Summary `-- Monday, February 8, 2010 Background On November 16;2009, Representative Dittrich released a press brief informing the public that a small business survey was being released to small business owners statewide. The survey's purpose was to gather small business owners' feedback regarding what the business environment was like for them, and what the state of Minnesota can do to create a better, more competitive place to do business. Surveys were collected from November 16, 2009 to December 31, 2009. The survey itself asks several questions about the business environment, including questioning respondents on their ties to Minnesota, how they've been affected by the recession, and government resources they use. Further, the survey gathers the business owner's thoughts on taxes, health care, and elicits suggestions for how the legislature can help their business. In total, there were 1080 respondents. Methodology Most questions were qualitative, meaning that respondents were asked a question and wrote their answer in prose. Each qualitative response was read by one reviewer, coded based on what 'theme' it belongs under, and later sorted through to see which themes were most popular. Only the most relevant and meaningful data will be presented here, as many questions had between 15 -45 different types of responses. The database will be available to members of the Small Business Caucus should they wish to run additional analyses. (The survey contains variables that were not analyzed here, including variables containing the respondent's region, age of their business, and number of employees they have). Also, the responses are NOT mutually exclusive. As most questions were qualitative, respondents more often than not gave multiple responses to each question. Finally, it is important to note that this is not a scientific study;yet, due to the large sample size,the study is still useful in eliciting information from small business owners. Findings Business Make-up, History Respondents were asked to describe their business and choose responses among 8 choices —4 of which describe the type of business, and 4 of which describe the business size/structure. Of the type of business, 28%of respondents worked in Professional Services,whereas 24%engaged in Retail activity, 13%in Repair/ Maintenance, and 7%in Restaurant/ Hospitality. Of the type of business size/structure, 42%of respondents stated they were an S-Corporation,followed by 15% being C-Corporations, 12% being LLCs, and 9% being Sole Proprietors. Respondents were next asked why they chose to do business in Minnesota, and 925 respondents answered this question. Of these respondents, over half stated that they chose to do business in Minnesota based upon the fact that they live in Minnesota (54%). Many of these respondents stated that they love living in Minnesota, and enjoy the quality of life that it affords. Next important, 38%cited buying or inheriting an existing business, followed by 15%who stated they found a niche/clientele for their business, and 12%stated opening a business for personal reasons (such as a desire for independence, or needing a new job after losing theirs.) Only 230 responded to the question of how their business got started. Of these respondents, almost a third (30%) stated that their business began as a spin-off of a previous business, and often cited feeling that they could provide a better service than the existing owners.