Small business owners embrace mobile tech

Small business owners are embracing mobile phone technology in their everyday lives, with approximately 80% of small business owners using a mobile phone for business at least once a day.

Manta's SMB Wellness Index reveals small business owners' attitudes on the impact mobile phones have on businesses.

According to the report, the amount of SMB entrepreneurs using mobile phones every day has increased by 10% since 2012.

On top of this, 25% of small businesses use their mobile device for business at least every hour, and not only when on the road.

Furthermore, 78% use their mobile device while in front of their computer, which is a 10% increase since 2012. This is for reasons ranging from checking personal texts or email (48%) to speedier email access (25%), says Manta.

Small businesses now rely on mobile phones for once traditional pen-and-paper tasks such as appointment scheduling or communicating with customers (56%), creating notes or to-do lists (30%), and banking (24%), according to the report.

The report also shows app-enabled smartphones allow small business owners to mix work and pleasure like never before, with 78% saying they check work email or other documents while on holiday.

This a controversial development, however, as 64% of respondents believe mobile access allows them to enjoy their holiday more, 36% believe it takes away from their ability to enjoy the break, says Manta.

The report found the majority of small business owners (71%) say 2015 has been a successful year so far, up 3% since the year prior.

Even more small businesses (82%) are optimistic about the remainder of the year. However, only 30% are planning to hire new employees in 2015, compared to the 35% of 2014.

"Mobile technology is clearly changing the nature of small business ownership. It's encouraging to see that small business owners are adapting and taking these seismic shifts in stride," says John Swanciger, Manta CEO.