Poll: Majority of small-business owners would choose same path

A majority of small-business owners say they would do it all again, a sign that the economic recession didn’t damage optimism, a new poll showed on Tuesday.

The survey showed that 84 percent of entrepreneurs said they would become small-business owners again in the first Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index conducted since 2010. 

{mosads}Only 13 percent said they would have done something else. The sentiment hasn’t fluctuated much since the poll was first taken in 2003.

Owners said their top reason for enjoying their work is that they are the decision-maker (42%), even amid the other challenges they have faced in starting and maintaining their businesses.

Job satisfaction was the top reason for 17 percent of respondents while 12 percent said working their own schedule and providing for more flexibility and family time was another benefit of owning a business.

Amid the satisfaction, small-business owners recognize that running their own firms is difficult, too.

When asked about their biggest challenges, the majority of responses centered around generating revenue and a customer base (23%), securing cash flow (15%), credit financing (10%) and getting the proper licensing (8%) and marketing their business, also mentioned by 8 percent of respondents.

The results are based on telephone interviews with 600 small-business owners conducted March 31-April 4.