2013
Deluxe’s Social Media App Uncovers Small Business Owners
Strictly speaking, small business (SMB) owners may not be superheroes, but, like their caped colleagues, they do have secret identities.
In celebration of National Small Business Week (June 17 – 21), we published a new social
media-based app to help “unmask” SMB owners by asking what motivated them to start their businesses. Inspired by our recent research into the “DNA” of America’s Small Business Owners, the “ 7 Types of Small Business Owners” app is available on Deluxe’s Facebook page.
This fast and easy quiz asks SMB owners 11 short “Yes” or “No” questions about the motivations behind their business startups – such as “Did you start your business because you didn’t want to work for someone else?”, “Did you start your business from a passion of yours?”, and “Did you start your business to get a fresh start?” Based on their unique answers, participants are categorized into one of seven distinct SMB owner profiles. They can also see what percentage of other owners fall into the same group.
The “7 Types of Small Business Owners” app is based on the analysis of the DNA survey. Highlighting the distinct motivations and attitudes of SMB owners, the categories include:
- All Heart: They are in business for one reason only – they want to do what they love and share it with others.
- Encore Career: Team players who are entering a second phase of their careers and took a risk with starting their own businesses.
- Passionately Confident: Risk-takers who are born to be business owners, enjoy choosing their own paths and are very passionate about their life’s work.
- All in the Family: Traditional-types who inherited their status as SMB owners, accounting for their long tenure and larger business size.
- My Way: Self-motivated owners who started their own businesses for the opportunity to get what they most value – control over their schedules and hours.
- Mastering the Niche: Visionaries who began their businesses because they saw an opportunity and wanted to capitalize on it.
- Boss-me-not: Experienced business professionals who left their for-profit, corporate, and entirely-unrelated jobs for one reason – to be their own bosses.
“From managing payroll to getting found online, like superheroes, small business owners face a different nemesis every day,” said Tim Carroll, vice president of small business engagement at Deluxe. “The Deluxe team had great fun analyzing our recent survey results to develop an in-depth understanding of the makeup of small business owners. With the ‘7 Types of Small Business Owners’ app, we are looking forward to having SMBs tell us which secret identity best defines them.”
We’re very excited to have this social app launch during small business week! We believe small business owners are often grouped into the same segment of person, even though each small business owner is unique in their own right! Again, you can take the quiz With the‘7 Types of Small Business Owners’ social app now until July 31st!
The “7 Types of Small Business Owners” app will be live on Deluxe’s Facebook page until July 31.

