Bluevine, the banking platform that serves as the financial operating system for startups and small businesses, announced its 2024 Mid-Year Business Owner Success Survey (BOSS) Report, benchmarking the data behind the actual decisions that US-based small business owners (SBOs) are making and informing their future decisions.
This mid-year pulse builds upon the findings “from its New Year report, demonstrating that even though SBOs are unbothered by inflation, unyielding interest rates, and political uncertainty, many are still making costly financial management mistakes that threaten their prospects for a successful 2024.”
Based on Bluevine’s mid-year survey, sentiment remains “positive for SBOs halfway through the year.”
The majority (88%) of SBOs met or exceeded “expectations for business performance forecasts in H1 2024. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of SBOs report coming out of H1 2024 with high confidence in H2 2024 business performance; and, two-thirds (66%) of SBOs received the additional capital they applied for via loan, line of credit, or credit card in H1 2024.”
Despite the collective optimism across the market segment, many SBOs “seem doomed to repeat avoidable mistakes, further threatening a successful 2024 if left uncorrected.”
More than half (52%) of SBOs still “use personal credit cards for business purposes, obscuring true cash flow and creating expense management and accounting issues.”
Only one-third (34%) of SBOs have established “access to a line of credit to use for company growth or as a buffer for working capital to cover late customer payments, payroll, or unexpected operational challenges.”
Lastly, while progress remains strong, “only a little more than half (58%) of SBOs report maintaining enough of a cash reserve to avoid a cash flow crunch.”
While the outcome of the 2024 election remains uncertain, the “majority (58%) of SBOs plan to vote for a candidate who aligns with their personal ideals over business-friendly policies.”
In fact, SBOs are nearly split on the potential “impact the presidential election will have: with 53% expecting a new Republican President to have a positive effect on their business and 40% expecting a new Democratic President to improve their business.”
Inflation (62%) and taxes (50%) rank among “the biggest concerns for SBOs when it comes to government policy, while regulations are simply not a concern to negatively impact business success.”
More than half (66%) of SBOs received the additional capital “they applied for via loan, line of credit, or credit card in H1 2024 and nearly all (95%) were approved for the amount of credit they applied for and received the APR they sought (83%); however, in a troubling trend, only one-third of SBOs have established a line of credit to help maintain a cash flow buffer.”
SBOs aren’t banking on Fed rate cuts “to invest in growth and operational goals, or simply cover major expenses like payroll, late customer payments or working capital.”
Methodology
Bredin, an independent research firm “specializing in SMB market trends, conducted a survey of 1,200 small business owners nationwide between June 5-18, 2024.”
The respondents reported annual revenue “between $100,000 and $5 million.”
