Discover(R) Card Survey Finds 67% of Small Business Owners Happy to Remain Small

ASBURY PARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 28, 2006--

Rasmussen Reports surveys unique small business segment; Results yield monthly economic confidence report plus insights on 'the joy of being small'

“The idea is to collect and report findings that help inform the marketplace about this unique and highly productive business sector”

Nearly 67% of owners of businesses with five or fewer employees are quite happy to have their companies remain small and 61% don't expect to work for anyone else before they retire.

The findings were among several insights drawn from opinions collected by Rasmussen Reports, LLC in connection with the Discover(R) Small Business Watch(SM), a monthly measure of economic confidence that Discover released today for the first time. There are 23 million companies in the U.S. that have five or fewer employees and they contribute more than a trillion dollars a year to the U.S. economy.

The monthly Watch will report, in numeric index form, findings from a random sample of 1,000 small business owners asked to rate the overall economy and share prospects for their own businesses. In addition to the economic survey of owners used to calculate the Watch, Rasmussen will poll a random sample of 4,000 consumers of small business products and services to learn about purchase behaviors and product/service quality expectations.

"The idea is to collect and report findings that help inform the marketplace about this unique and highly productive business sector," said Sastry Rachakonda, Director, Discover Business Card. "In addition, we fully expect to gain both attitudinal and behavioral insights that we can share with our small company customers to help them advance their own businesses.

"With the Watch and the accompanying research, we can give a voice to this unique business segment," Rachakonda said. "We believe small businesses are often the earliest to foretell future economic trends, yet until now their views have not been consistently captured and reported."

"You can't help but detect the certain joy of being small that epitomizes this large group of business people," said Scott Rasmussen, Publisher of Rasmussen Reports), the Internet's most visited public opinion website (www.rasmussenreports.com). "Nearly half of them don't have plans to retire. Three in four (78%) used to work in a big company but don't expect to go back. And 42% claim that they have no plans to retire.

"All these add up to a rather self-satisfied business sector," Rasmussen said, "and the satisfaction shows through in the way they conduct their business."

According to the August survey of consumers, 60% said they purchased a small business product or service this summer. In addition, 60% of employees of other businesses say that their company has purchased a small business product or service in the last 90 days. Seventy percent (70%) reported that they were "very satisfied" with the quality of the product or service they purchased.

Two-thirds (67%) of consumers surveyed believe that self-employed people and small business owners typically provide better customer service than larger companies.

About the Small Business Watch:

The Discover Small Business Watch(SM) is an index that measures the relative of economic confidence of U.S. small business owners who employ less than five employees, a segment consists of 23 million businesses producing more than a trillion dollars in annual receipts. The Watch(SM) is based on a national random survey of 1,000 small business owners conducted by Rasmussen Reports, LLC (www.rasmussenreports.com), an independent survey research firm. The numeric index is calculated by assigning values to responses to a set of six consistent questions. The base value of the Watch was established at 100.0 based on surveys conducted in August of 2006. In tandem with each month's Watch(SM), Rasmussen also surveys 4,000 consumers to gauge purchasing behavior and attitudes towards small businesses.

About Discover Financial Services LLC

Discover Financial Services LLC, a business unit of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), operates the Discover Card with more than 50 million Cardmembers, and the Discover Network with more than 4 million merchant and cash access locations. Discover Financial Services also operates the PULSE ATM/debit network, which serves over 4,200 financial institutions and includes almost 250,000 ATMs and approximately 3.4 million POS terminals. For more information, visit www.discovercard.com, www.discovernetwork.com or www.pulse-eft.com.

About Rasmussen Reports, LLC

Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information. RasmussenReports.com is the top-ranked public opinion research site on the world wide web.