“These survey results show that small business owners must take action immediately to not only save their business, but to save their lives,” said Paul Rauseo, managing director of the George S. May International Company.
Eighty percent of the respondents give their business a nine-month lifespan if economic conditions do not improve, 16 percent said three months and four percent reported six months of survival.
“There continues to be a lot of fingerpointing going around, and small business owners are blaming the banks for not lending credit to them, which may result in their businesses folding,” Rauseo said. “But, the banks are not the problem; small business owners needs to get themselves into a position where the banks will be able to lend to them.”
There are a number of actions that business owners can take to make their companies attractive to lenders, which will lead banks to extend loans, or vendors offering lines of credit, Rauseo added.
“Small business owners can be victims or victors,” Rauseo said. “And, we’re here to show them that they can, in fact, be victors if they start paying attention to the business side of the business and reach out for management help.”
The survey also found 41 percent of small business owners not having taken a salary in 2009 in order to stay in business, 20 percent have had to pull money from their personal 401K, and 80 percent said they reduced the number of employees.
