Experian Study Puts Small Businesses in the Spotlight

COSTA MESA, CA – Experian®, a global information solutions company, today announced the results of a comprehensive study that helps better understand the face of today’s small business owner. By analyzing its extensive consumer and business databases, Experian compiled a sample of more than one million small business owners for this study. Experian also defined a small business owner as the CEO, president or proprietor of a business having 25 or fewer employees. Analysis of this data showed that small-business owners possess unique characteristics that set them apart from the rest of the consumer population.

Furthermore, the results of the study indicated that there is a distinct correlation between a small business owner’s personal credit score and their commercial credit score. This information indicates that a blended scoring approach would offer companies a more predictive view of a small business’ creditworthiness and risk, helping them to make important lending, financing and marketing decisions.

A sample of the study’s initial findings include:

• Small business owners have a 21 percent higher income than the general population, and are more likely to reside in higher-value homes.

• Small business owners are slightly younger then the overall national average, and have longer lengths of residence.

• Forty-two percent of small business owners are more likely to be married than the national average. Twenty percent more likely to live in male-headed households, 25 percent more likely to have children and 11 percent more likely to be homeowners.

• Small business owners have higher education levels across all education attainment categories, and are more likely to donate to causes than the overall population.

• There is a significant positive correlation between the consumer credit score and the commercial credit score. Thus, positive changes in one score frequently are associated with positive changes in the other score. Conversely, negative changes in one score frequently are associated with negative changes in the other score.

For more information about this study visit www.experianbizinsight.com or call an Experian sales representative at 800-509-5604.

About Experian
Experian is a global leader in providing information solutions to organizations and consumers. It helps organizations find, develop and manage profitable customer relationships by providing information, decision-making solutions and processing services. It empowers consumers to understand, manage and protect their personal information and assets. Experian works with more than 50,000 clients across diverse industries, including financial services, telecommunications, health care, insurance, retail and catalog, automotive, manufacturing, leisure, utilities, e-commerce, property and government. Experian is a subsidiary of GUS plc and has headquarters in Nottingham, UK, and Costa Mesa, California. Its 12,000 people in 26 countries support clients in more than 60 countries. Annual sales exceed $2.5 billion.

For more information, visit the company’s Web site on www.experian.com.