Network Solutions

Welcome to the 2009 Small Business Success Index.

The Small Business Success Index was designed to measure how successful small businesses believe they are in six key areas of business that include: capital management, marketing and innovation, human capital, customer service, IT deployment and compliance. By having small businesses identify the areas where they feel they are succeeding and failing, the Index will help others understand their needs and pain points. In addition, the Index will also highlight what successful small businesses are doing differently so that others can use them as benchmarks for their business.

The SBSI identifies exactly how and why small businesses are successful on 28 business activities that are critical to their long term health. This is in contrast to most widely publicized indexes that capture broad opinions on the business environment that reflect the short-term.The SBSI is also unique in that it captures the full range of variables that affect small business success, including the traits of businesses and their owners, the role of technology, and the impact of broad trends such as globalization and regulation. To illustrate, the SBSI study highlights the competitive advantages of small businesses that rely heavily on internet-based solutions.

Network Solutions has been enabling small business success for 30 years, the last 16 of which have been helping them to get onto and be successful on the internet. We have used the knowledge and experience gained over that time to develop Web-based services that help small businesses establish and grow their companies online.

American small businesses are the bedrock of the U.S. economy. There are more than 25 million of them in the US, according to the Census Bureau. They employ more than 58 million people¹ ; that is a greater number of jobs than big companies can claim, and they create more new jobs each year than any other sector. In these unprecedented economic times, we believe it is important to establish a way of monitoring the health of this vital segment of our economy. By gaining a better understanding of the challenges that small businesses face, all who serve this constituency will be able to better address their needs and help them succeed. I should also add that our global small business experience suggests the key findings in this research are applicable to businesses in other countries.

Indeed, small businesses can use the survey themselves to diagnose their own competitive success, while policy makers can use the index results to set priorities for supporting small business.

A crucial part of taking our concept of the Small Business Success Index and developing it into a trusted, reliable and rigorous tracking and measurement instrument, was partnering with reputable entities in academia and research. We have found such partners in The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, an internationally recognized leader in management education and research; and Rockbridge Associates, a full service custom market research firm. Together we have created an Index that we believe will be the cornerstone in helping Americans have a better understanding of small business and its impact on our economy.”

¹ U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy