A new survey of U.S. small business owners, from Ink from Chase and The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), designed to offer insight into the potential differences and similarities of male and female small business owners shows that female small business owners are more focused on increasing marketing and social media outreach (62 percent) for business growth than their male counterparts.

The joint survey, commissioned by Ink from Chase, the business card portfolio of Chase, and NAWBO, polled 1001 small business owners nationwide from companies that have between one and 99 employees.

Key survey findings include:

Small business owners are working to grow their businesses in the next 12 months

  • More than half (57 percent) of small business owners plan geographical expansion during the next 12 months
  • Small business owners plan to increase marketing (61 percent) and social media outreach (56 percent) to current and potential customers to help grow their business.
  • Interestingly, just 25 percent of small business owners plan to increase head count during the next 12 months to help grow business. However, those who are hiring, say they will most likely hire full-time employees (74 percent of female small business owners and 85 percent of male small business owners).

    • Part-time hires are also in the forecast as 59 percent of small business owners plan to hire part-time employees in the next 12 months to help grow business.

Small business owners plan to implement new technology to help grow their business

  • Four in ten (40 percent) small business owners plan to increase the use of new technology to help grow their business. In fact, nearly two thirds (60 percent) say they plan to use payment platforms in the next 12 months

    • 44 percent of male small business owners are focused on E-commerce
    • More female small business owners (65 percent) are focused on social media platforms versus males (53 percent).
    • Male and female small business owners break even when it comes to mobile payments use (45 percent).

“The results of our survey show a strong small business climate that is primed for continued expansion by utilizing new and innovative ways to increase customer engagement,” said Laura Miller, President of Ink by Chase. “The adoption of new technology and abilities of small business owners to remain nimble while focused on expansion are crucial for this critical portion of the U.S. economy.”

“The majority of our NAWBO members are small business owners themselves so we know first-hand that when small business owners are equipped with the tools they need to grow and expand their businesses, they do so and the results have a positive ripple effect throughout our economy,” said Darla Beggs, NAWBO National Board Chair. “These survey results demonstrate some different approaches men and women may bring to their businesses as they strive toward the same goal of growing their businesses and growing our economy. It is our hope that highlighting these variances will lead to an improved business environment for women business owners.”

Female small business owners are more likely than their male counterparts to find work life balance challenging

  • Half (54 percent) of female small business owners say time management / delegating work to achieve better work-life balance is most challenging when it comes to running their small business compared to 45 percent of male small business owners.
  • Male small business owners found complying with tax and government regulation a bigger challenge than female small business owners – 41 percent vs. 34 percent.

Personal experiences and peer relationships help shape small business owners

  • A majority of small business owners (89 percent) say their personal relationships influence the way they run their business and nearly seven in ten (67 percent) admit to being influenced by their peers .

    • In fact, small business owners reflect on past experiences working for other companies (68 percent) and gut instincts (55 percent) when it comes to running their business.
    • However, they are also influenced by mentors in the field (51 percent) and other small business owners (53 percent).
    • Maybe not so surprising, female small business owners are more likely than male small business owners to say their personal experience running a household influences the way they do business (42 percent vs. 25 percent).

Ink from Chase is a portfolio of business cards offering robust, flexible payment solutions and resources to meet the unique needs of small business owners, from spending habits to cash flow needs to rewards. This business card portfolio, includes the Ink Bold, Ink Plus, and Ink Cash cards. Cardholders receive access to Jot SM, a free mobile application and online tool designed to meet the needs of small business owners who are often on the go. Jot saves small business owners time in the back office by enabling them to easily track, categorize and organize business expenses – including actual receipts – in real-time from their iPhone® and Android™ mobile devices.

About the Survey

The phone survey was fielded by Braun Research from July 9 – July 25, 2014. The survey reached 1,001 small business owners nationally (520 women, 481 men) with one to 99 employees. The survey has a margin of error of +/-3.1%.

About Chase

Chase is the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.5 trillion and operations worldwide. Chase serves nearly half of America’s households with a broad range of financial services, including personal banking, small business lending, mortgages, credit cards, auto financing and investment advice. Customers can choose how and where they want to bank: 5,600 branches, 20,000 ATMs, online, mobile and by phone. For more information, go to www.chase.com.

About NAWBO

Founded in 1975, the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) is the unified voice of America’s more than 9.1 million women-owned businesses representing the fastest growing segment of the economy. NAWBO is the only dues-based organization representing the interests of all women entrepreneurs across all industries. NAWBO develops programs that help women entrepreneurs navigate through the various stages of their business growth.