CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fifty-one percent of Republican small and mid-sized business (SMBs) owners are highly concerned about the outcome of the 2016 election compared to 21 percent of Democrats and 30 percent of Undecided small and mid-sized business owners.
The Political Face of the SMB Market, a report by The Business Journals, also reveals that Republican SMB owners’ concerns are elevated despite generating more average annual sales than Democrat and Undecided SMB owners. Average annual sales of Republican-owned SMBs are $1.1 million higher than businesses owned by Democrats, and $2.9 million higher than businesses owned by Undecideds.
Although Democrat-owned SMBs have lower average annual sales, they are substantially more confident about the U.S. economy. Seventy-six percent of Democrat-owned SMBs have confidence the economy will improve over the next 24 months compared to 44 percent of Republican-owned SMBs.
“Small and mid-sized business owners have local influence and national economic power,” said Jessie Shaw, vice president, director of research. “As a group, they account for roughly 7.6M businesses, make up forty-size percent of the GDP and generate eighty-nine percent of their sales locally. Decisions and policies impacting their communities and businesses are of crucial importance.”
Democrat and Republican SMB owners do share some business and personal concerns but prioritize them differently. The number one concern of Republican-owned SMBs is the cost of health insurance and other employee benefits while Democrat-owned SMBs are most concerned about attracting new customers.
Nearly half of SMB owners are Republican and more than one-third are Undecided. Democrats are the clear minority, making up nineteen percent of SMB owners.
The Political Face of the SMB Market is part of The Business Journals annual SMB Insights reports designed to compile key perspectives into the state of the SMB market. The Business Journals is a division of American City Business Journals, the nation’s largest publisher of local business news and information.
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About American City Business Journals
For more than three decades, ACBJ has been the nation's largest publisher of local business news and information, deploying more than 600 journalists across 43 major U.S. cities. ACBJ owns 40 business publications online and in print across the country that offer exclusive, in-depth business coverage. In addition, ACBJ owns and operates SportsBusiness Journal, SportsBusiness Daily, SportsBusiness Daily Global, Inside Lacrosse, NASCAR Illustrated and Hemmings Motor News. ACBJ is headquartered in Charlotte, NC and is a division of Advance Publications, Inc., the parent company to Condé Nast Publications and more than 20 daily newspapers throughout the country.
