Small-Business owners mostly satisfied, NFIB survey finds. (Communique).(National Federation of Independent Business report "Success, Satisfaction, and Growth")(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

While 51 percent of small-business owners want to grow their business, just 13 percent say that growth is one of the most influential factors in evaluating the current success of their business. Most who wish to grow have modest goals, though just less than one in ten aim for a minimum of $100 million or more in annual sales. Forty-three percent prefer to remain the same size. These are some of the findings from Success, Satisfaction, and Growth, the latest report from the National Small Business Poll developed by NFIB and Wells Fargo.

"Business success is a flexible yardstick against which the owner can judge his or her enterprise and subsequently adjust plans, operations and procedures," said William Dennis, NFIB senior research fellow and author of the survey. "Small-business owners do not have to own a large or rapidly growing business to feel that theirs is successful. While some financial minimum, albeit an arbitrary minimum, is necessary to continue operating, many factors besides financial performance contribute to the success of their enterprises."

Over three-fourths (81 percent) of small business owners feel their business is a success, while nearly a quarter (21 percent) consider their businesses extremely successful. Only 17 percent rate their businesses less than successful. Small-business owners surveyed who feel that their businesses are highly successful cite the quality of their products and services (42 percent) and of employees, customers and business associates (37 percent) as the most important factors in their ratings. The third most important factor mentioned as a measure of success is the firm's financial performance (37 percent).

While personal satisfaction is positively related to business success, business success is not the only source of business owners' ...