WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE FUTURE OF SMALL BUSINESS
As of December 2019, the Canadian economy totaled 1.23 million employer businesses. Of these, 1.2 million (97.9 percent) were small businesses. As these numbers show, small business is big now, and the future of small business is bright!
1. The economy flourishes on small businesses
The pandemic was hard on many people. As many businesses were adversely affected, there were significant job losses, and the economy began a strong downward trend. But small businesses may be the answer to these recent challenges.
Small businesses have played a key role in keeping the economy going. Between 2014 and 2019, small businesses contributed to the creation of 472,400 jobs in the private sector—that’s more than 78,733 jobs each year on average.
There is every reason to believe that small businesses will continue to create new jobs and employ more people in the future.
2. Small businesses are resilient
If there was one thing we have learned during the pandemic, it was that small businesses proved that they are resilient and agile enough to survive hard times.
Small business owners who kept their businesses going during the global economic challenges caused by the pandemic proved their value and quality. Entrepreneurs created new strategies to deal with very difficult economic conditions, demonstrating that small businesses are agile, adaptable, and flexible.
3. Small businesses embrace their communities and remote work.
Small businesses recognize the importance of community. In a survey of small businesses, Salesforce found that 67% of small business leaders say that community support has been important to their company’s survival.
Customers are more inclined to shop at local businesses that are active and show they care, while employees are more willing to work in environments where they feel secure and valued.
The same Salesforce report found that 83% of small businesses have at least some of their operations online. Of those, 95% moved a portion of their operations online in the last year because of the pandemic and remote work priorities. It is estimated that remote work will increase 13.5% even after the pandemic.
4. Small businesses employ almost half of the workforce
Canadian small businesses employ 8.4 million people, which equates to 68.8% of the total private labour force. That number continues to grow, with an increase in entrepreneurs over the last decade and bigger investments in small businesses over the past several years.
5. Going digital and new technology is key to success
During the pandemic, many small businesses had to transition rapidly to an increased online presence. Digital operations like support, online ordering, and remote services are in high demand from consumers worldwide.
Recent data revealed that 71% of small businesses say their customers expect online transactions, and nearly the same ratio have an e-commerce presence. That’s likely why more than half of growing small businesses accelerated investments in sales and customer service technology over the past year.
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