Small business dealing well with current challenges

(Originally published in TOURISM)

Jean-Rene Halde, president and CEO of the Business Development Bank of Canada, says smaller companies tend to face the same challenges as larger ones, whether it be the strong dollar or domestic labour shortages, and so far it appears that, as a group, they've been dealing with those challenges. Halde was quoted October 16, 2007 in an article by Eric Beauchesne of CanWestNews Service, in which he points out this sector is innovative and agile, important because they make up the vast majority of businesses in Canada.

"We're a nation of basically, small and medium-sized businesses," he said in the CanWest article, noting that of the one million businesses with at least one employee in Canada, 97.7 per cent are small firms with less than 100 employees, and two per cent are medium-sized businesses with between 100 and 500. Halde is optimistic they will continue to meet the challenges as long as they don't get blindsided by the unexpected.

Interestingly, Halde thinks the biggest challenges facing small and medium-size firms are ones which have been around longer: labour shortages (which are especially acute in western Canada) and the strong dollar, which has been particularly challenging for smaller manufacturers who export to the US. "If you happen to an exporter, even a smaller one, obviously the rise in the loonie has been a problem," he said. "The rate at which the Canadian dollar has gone up, has made it tough to adjust."

Tourism is considered an export industry, although the sector is not directly identified in the CanWestNews report, which was published in the Vancouver Sun here.

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