Business View Civil and Municipal | January 2021

8 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL JANUARY 2021 Of those planning to grow and expand their business in the next 6-12 months, 44% indicated they will do so by hiring more employees and 26% noted investments in technology. Other findings include: • Overall, business owners’ perception of being successful or very successful during the past year declined significantly from 76% in 2019 to 69% in 2020. Florida (64%) and Wisconsin (64%) showed the sharpest decline in business performance with a difference of 18% and 23% respectively from 2019. North Carolina’s (69%) perception of business success remained stable year-over-year. • The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is considered very concerning by 51% of business owners and registers as the most prevalent concern impacting their ability to meet business goals in the next year. • Building brand awareness through general marketing is the top growth strategy among respondents (43%). Other strategies include increasing current customer satisfaction and loyalty (37%), creating new products and services (26%) and researching and identifying new customer opportunities (33%). • Local loyalty continues to drive positive sentiment, with 72% of all respondents in all five markets agreeing that the state where their business is located is a great place to start a small business. By state, the percentage of respondents agreeing their state is a great place to start a business are: California (61%), Wisconsin (66%), North Carolina (72%), South Carolina (84%) and Florida (80%). • Banks are facing stronger competition from non-traditional funding sources. In 2020, 43% of respondents plan to seek funding in the next 6-12 months, with the top funding sources being business credit cards (33%), online payment companies (16%), loans from vendors (20%), social media (17%) and venture capitalists/angel investors (11%). The First Citizens Bank Small Business Forecast is conducted annually in California, Wisconsin, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina to assess the motivations, sentiments and success of U.S. small business owners. About First Citizens Bank Founded in 1898 and headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., First Citizens Bank is one of the largest family- controlled banks in the U.S., with offices in 19 states. For more information, visit firstcitizens.com/ small-business . The small business community shoulders a significant amount of responsibility and has continued to showcase its resiliency year-after-year