The job site SnagAJob.com just released a national survey of 511 entrepreneurs to determine their motivations for starting a business, their successes and frustrations.
For small business owners with two to 100 employees, 63% report that starting and owning a business had turned out to be even more personally fulfilling than they expected. These same business owners, it should be noted, are also working in their business an average of 58 hours per week and only 21% of them are earning more than they had hoped to make when they started their companies.
Of greatest interest to me, however, was their list of top frustrations:
- bookkeeping (38%) — sounds like they need to hire a Virtual Accountant!!
- HR issues like benefits (31%)
- recruiting (18%)
On the bright side, owners of the smallest businesses do put in fewer hours than their peers with larger businesses. Small business owners with two to 10 employees spend 58 hours per week on their business while owners with 11 to 100 employees report working an average of 69 hours a week.
Deb Howard Greenleaf, EA, CEO and Principal, of Greenleaf Accounting Services provides virtual accounting and bookkeeping services and specializes in financial management to consultants, coaches, solo professionals, and other small business owners across the US. Deb is an Enrolled Agent (EA)—an IRS-licensed tax professional—and specializes in small businesses and entrepreneurs filing Schedule C or as an LLC. As an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, Deb spends her day in QuickBooks Online and specializes in providing QBO support.
