Few Businesses Have Financial Plans: Study

WILTON, Conn.-- Based on a national sample of nearly 1,600 owners of businesses with fewer than 100 employees, a study conducted over the Internet finds that only 38 percent of owners or part owners of businesses of this size have a formal financial plan.

The study is a joint project of Greenfield Online and Brightwork Partners. It found that these owners are generally younger, better educated, more affluent and more likely to be women than most financial services marketers generally assume. "The business owner in the new economy is a white collar college graduate with an average household income approaching $165,000 a year.

They are in their early 40s, most are founders of their own companies and nearly half of them are women," according to Merl W. Baker, principal of
Brightwork Partners. Importantly, older business owners are no more likely to have a plan than
younger ones. Owners or part owners of businesses with 50 to 99 employees are much more likely to have a formal, written financial plan. More than two-thirds of this group have a written plan. This groups household income is nearly $240,000 a year.

Women who own businesses are more receptive to financial advice than men, the study found. Greenfield Online identifies business owners through its online research panel. "The Internet really is the most efficient way to identify and interview this population," says Dean Wiltse, president and CEO.