disb access to capital survey 2015 09

The DC Department of Insurance Securities and Banking (DISB) survey is being conducted with theassistance of consulting firm, BDA Global, and asks DC-based small businesses about theirexperiences in pursing financial services and credit.

The questionnaire takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. Your answers are confidential andresults will be reported only in the aggregate.

The valuable information you provide will help DISB’s efforts to:

- improve offerings to the local business community;- provide feedback to financial services entities; and- provide outreach to match businesses and service providers needs.

For optimal readability, we recommend taking the survey on a desktop computer or a tablet. Thankyou for your time.

Welcome to the DISB Access to Capital Survey

Small Business Barriers to Accessing Capital - General Questions

Please take the next 10 minutes to answer the following survey questions. All information provided will be aggregated and none of yourresponses will be attributed to you personally.

General Questions

1. What is the name of your business?

2. What is your business's primary zip code?

Date / Time

MM

/

DD

/

YYYY

3. In what year was your business founded?

4. What type of funding was used to start your business? (Select all that apply)

Business Loan

Line of Credit

Credit Card(s)

Personal Savings

Friends/Family

Other (please specify)

Section 1. General Questions...continued

5. Please select the industry that BEST describes your business:

Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting

Mining, Quarrying, Oil and Gas

Utilities

Construction

Manufacturing

Wholesale Trade

Retail Trade

Transportation and Warehousing

Information, media, and telecommunications

Finance and Insurance

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (e.g. Accounting or Consulting)

Management of Companies and Enterprises

Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services

Educational Services

Health Care and Social Assistance

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation

Accommodation and Food Services

Public Administration


6. Please specify what your business does?

Section 1.1 Business Size

7. How many people does your business employ?

8. Roughly, what were your business's total revenue in 2014?

Less than $50,000

$50,001 - $250,000

$250,001 - $500,000

$500,001 - $1,000,000

$1,000,001 - $5,000,000

$5,000,001 - $10,000,000

$10,000,001 - $100,000,000

Greater than $100,000,000

Section 2.0 Performance and Strategy

9. For the first half of 2015 (Jan - Jun) how did your business perform financially?

Profit

Break Even

Loss

Increased Stayed the Same Decreased

2012

2013

2014

10. How did your business's revenue change over the last 3 years?


2012

2013

2014

11. How did your business's profits change over the last 3 years?


2012

2013

2014

12. How did your business's number of employees change over the last 3 years?

Section 2.0 Performance and Strategy...continued

13. Select the MAIN strategy, if any, your business used to improve operations in the first half of calendaryear 2015?

Reorganized management

Reduced operating expenses

Lowered debt payments

Increased capital investment(s)

Launched new products / services

Added new clients and/or markets

Increased pricing

No changes made


Section 2. Performance and Strategy...continued

14. Has your business experienced ANY OF the following challenges in the first half of 2015?

2012 2013 2014

Lack of Credit Availability

Lack of FinancialManagement Guidance

Uneven Cash Flow

Increased Fixed Cost ofRunning Business

Not Applicable

15. Did your business experience the same financial challenges in the prior 3 years?

16. Briefly, please describe the reason(s) for any changes (or lack of) in the challenges your businessfaces?

Section 3. Finances

2013 2014 2015 (YTD)

Increased

Stayed the Same

Decreased

N/A

17. How has your business's ability to access capital changed in the last 3 years? (Including current year)

2013 2014 2015 (YTD)

100%

75-99%

50-74%

25-49%

1-24%

0%

18. What level of financing did your business have to cover operational expenses and/or capitalinvestments over the last 3 years?

19. What, if anything, has your business done to improve its ability to obtain financing in the first half of2015? (Select all that apply)

Paid down debt

Consulted business advisor / improved financial management

Contact new / more financial institutions and/or explored new financing types (e.g. Crowd Funding; peer loans)

Did not take any action to improve my business's financing position


Section 3. Finances...continued

20. Please select the PRIMARY type of financing used by your business in the last year?

Business earnings

Credit cards

Business loans / line of credit

Personal savings

Friends and family

Home Equity load


21. What percentage of your business's operations was financed by credit?

100%

75-99%

50-74%

25-49%

1-24%

0%

22. Did your business have any outstanding debt as of June 30, 2015?

Yes

No (Jump to question 30)

Not sure (Jump to question 30)

23. If you answered yes to question 22, how much total debt did your business have as of June 30, 2015?

$1 - $10,000

$10,001 - $25,000

$25,001 - $50,000

$50,001 - $100,000

$100,001 - $250,000

$250,001 - $500,000

$500,000 - $1,000,000

> $1,000,000

Not sure

24. If you answered yes to question 22, what percentage of your business's total debt was held on a creditcard?

100%

75-99%

50-74%

25-49%

1-24%

0%

25. If you answered yes to question 22, what percentage of your business's total debt was added orrenewed in the last year?

100%

75-99%

50-74%

25-49%

1-24%

0%


26. If you answered yes to question 22, for what PRIMARY purpose does your business use financing fromnon-business earning sources (e.g. business loan, line of credit, personal savings)

Refinance or pay down debt

Capital investment

Hire employees

Real estate investment

Fulfil existing business contracts

Launch new products/service

Manage cash flow / operating expenses

My business only uses business earnings


27. If you answered yes to question 22, how did the interest rate on your debt change in the last 3 years?

Rate became lower

Rate stayed the same

Rate became higher


28. If you answered yes to question 22, was collateral required to secure ANY OF your business debt?(Collateral might include inventory, equipment, property, personal real estate, and other assets)

Yes

No

Not sure

29. If you answered yes to question 28, which types of collateral were required to secure your businessdebt?

Inventory or accounts receivable

Business non-real estate assets

Business real estate property

Personal real estate property



30. Did your business search for credit in the last year?

Yes

No (Jump to question 32)

Not sure (Jump to question 32)

31. If you answered yes to question 30, what was the MOST frequent way your business searched forcredit in the last year?

Internet Search

Consulted primary financial institution

Consulted multiple financial institutions

Consulted business service organization (e.g. Chamber of Commerce)

Applied through government program(s)

Applied through nonprofit organization(s)

Consulted with accountant

Consulted with friends and family


32. Did your business apply for credit in the last year?

Yes (Continue to Section 4)

No (Jump to Section 5)

Not sure (Jump to Section 5)

Section 4. Businesses that applied for credit

33. How many applications for credit did you submit in the last year?

1-5

6-10

11-15

16-20

>20

34. How many different business institutions did you submit applications for credit to in the last year?

1-5

6-10

11-15

16-20

>20

35. Approximately how many hours did your business spend researching and completing credit applicationsin the last year?

< 1

1-5 hours

6-10 hours

11-15 hours

16-20 hours

21-30 hours

31-40 hours

> 40 hours

36. What types of funding sources did you submit applications to?

Banks

Alternative small business lenders

Federal Government Lenders

State and Local Government Lenders

Non profit administered grant programs


37. From which sources did your business receive funding? (Select all that apply)

Banks

Alternative small business lenders

Federal Government Lenders

State and Local Government Lenders

Non profit administered grant programs

None


38. What was the MAIN purpose for your business to apply for credit in the last year?

Start a business

Purchase a business

Expand business (e.g. New products and markets)

Fund day-to-day operations

Make Capital Investments

Improve Cash Flow (e.g. to help with payroll )


Section 4. Businesses that applied for credit...continued.

39. How much of the credit that your business applied for was approved?

100% (Jump to question 43)

75-99%

50-74%

25-49%

10-24%

1-10%

None

40. For businesses that did not receive 100% of the credit applied for, what were the MOST likelyreasons for not receiving the full amount of credit sought?

Low Credit Score

Insufficient Collateral

Lack of a cash contribution

Less than 3 years in business

Weak/missing financial documents or tax statements

Weak business performance (e.g. uneven cash flow)

Discrimination


41. For businesses that did not receive 100% of the credit applied for, what was the MOST importantbusiness impact of not receiving the full amount of credit sought?

Did not hire new employees

Delayed/prevented ability to fulfill existing contracts

Delayed/prevented expansion of business (e.g. launch of new products/services)

Sought alternative financing sources (e.g. Crowd Funding or Peer-to-Peer lending)

No significant impact


42. If your business sought alternative financing, please specify the sources:

Crowd Funding

Peer-to-Peer Lending

Nonprofit Administered Grants

Federal Lending Program(s)

Local Lending Program(s)


Business Loan Line of Credit Credit Card Other

2013

2014

2015 (YTD)


43. What types of credit products did your business apply for in the last 3 years?

Business Loan Line of Credit Credit Card Other

2013

2014

2015 (YTD)

44. Did your business receive all, some, or none of the credit products applied for in each of the last 3years?

45. Was your business's credit sufficient to meet your operational needs?

Yes

No

46. If your business sought alternative financing, please specify the sources?

Crowd Funding






Section 5. Businesses that DID NOT apply for credit

47. What was the PRIMARY reason your business did NOT apply for credit in the last year?

Had sufficient financing

Did not think business would be approved

Discouraged by someone

Did not want to accrue debt

Did not think business had sufficient collateral

Credit costs were too high


48. If you responded "did not think business would be approved" to question 47, what were the likelyreasons your business would not be approved? (Select all that apply)

Low credit score

Insufficient collateral

Weak/missing financial documents or tax statements

Weak business performance

Discrimination


49. If you responded "did not think business would be approved" to question 47, did you not apply for creditbased on the perception that you would be discriminated against?

Yes

No

50. If you responded "yes" to question 49, on what basis did you think you would discriminated against?

Age

Race

Gender

Disability

Religion

National Origin

Sexual Orientation


51. In the last year, what was the MOST important business impact of NOT APPLYING for credit?

Did not hire new employees

Delayed/prevented ability to fulfill on existing contracts

Delayed/prevented expansion of business (e.g. launch of new products/services)

Sought alternative financing sources (e.g. Crowd Funding or Peer-to-Peer lending)

No significant impact


52. If your business sought alternative financing, please specify the sources?

Crowd Funding






Section 6.0 Future Credit Plans

53. Does your business plan to apply for credit in the next year?

Yes

No

Not sure

54. If your business were to apply for credit in the next year, do you think you would be approved for theamount you require?

Yes

No

Not sure

55. What types of assistance do you think would be helpful in your efforts to obtain access to capital?

Bank financing information events

Alternative financing information events

How-to apply for financing clinics

Financial management workshops

Bookkeeping training


56. Is your business a member of:

DC Chamber of Commerce

Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Greater Washington Board of Trade

DC Certified Business Enterprise


57. If you indicated your business is a "Certified Business Enterprise," in question 56 above, pleaseindicate the type of CBE? (Select all that apply)

Local Business Enterprise

Small Business Enterprise

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise

Development Enterprise Zone

Resident Owned Business

Longtime Resident Business

Veteran Owned Business Enterprise

Local Manufacturing Business Enterprise

disb access to capital survey 2015 09

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