Although owners of small- and mid-market businesses are operating in an economy that places increasing demands on their time and resources, fewer than 25% are doing so with the help of a financial advisor.
"Too many business owners are trying to navigate today's challenging environment without professional financial advice," said Juan Jose Pérez, senior vice president of strategic customer solutions for Nationwide. "The beginning of the year is a great time for advisors to proactively engage current and potential business owner clients, meeting them where they are to address the challenges keeping them up at night."
A recent Nationwide survey revealed the top 10 topics that these business owners would like to discuss with a financial professional:
- Inflation
- Economic uncertainty
- Financial risk management strategies
- High interest rates
- The business owner's personal retirement
- Access to credit
- Supply chain disruptions
- Employee retirement plan offerings
- Succession planning
- Potential employee voluntary benefits offerings
Some owners are sacrificing personal financial security to keep their businesses afloat, with 14% reducing their retirement savings in the past year and 13% tapping into personal retirement funds to support their business. Nearly one-third of small business owners and nearly one-fifth of mid-market owners say they would cut their own pay before cutting employee benefits.
More than one-quarter of business owners say attracting and retaining skilled employees has been a top workforce challenge over the past 12 months. Four in 10 small and 57% of mid-market business owners report attracting and retaining employees as a top business challenge when looking ahead to the next 12 months. As a result, many are interested in talking about new employee benefit options, with 1 in 5 saying that improving employee benefits is one of their biggest business opportunities over the next 12 months. A significant majority of business owners (56% small and 79% mid-market) are interested in offering voluntary benefits to enhance their benefits package.
Health care costs are rising, and so are the costs of providing health insurance to employees, with 6 in 10 citing this as a top challenge over the next 12 months. Despite this harsh reality, 46% of small and 78% of mid-market business owners report increasing or planning to increase health insurance coverage levels for employees. Many are considering a shift to self-insuring their employee health plan in the next 12 months, including 15% of small and 29% of mid-market business owners.
"Self-insurance is a great way for business owners to reduce costs," Pérez said. "Beyond helping them navigate this transition, our survey highlights the need for advisors to bring solutions like medical stop-loss insurance to the table to protect business owner clients from the risk of catastrophic health claims."
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