Small business owners are concerned about the economy more than ever, but they are still glad to be their own bosses, according to a quarterly survey released this week.

Small business optimism is at an all time low, according to the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index, dropping 35 points from the previous survey in January to 48 points. This is a 66-point drop from the Index's highest score of 114 in December 2006 and the lowest in the five year history of the survey.

However, the survey found that satisfaction levels among small business owners were relatively unchanged from January–down only four points to 86%. In addition, 94% of respondents said they feel successful being a small business owner, virtually unchanged from all prior quarters.

The survey measures both current and future expectations among business owners in six key areas: financial situation, cash flow, revenues, capital allocation, job hiring, and credit availability. Scores in all six key areas declined over the previous quarter. The most significant declines were small business owners' present revenue situation and future expectations for cash flow and financial situation.