Business Barometer, November 2011

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The following comments were taken directly from the survey:

• The City of Calgary business tax is a real inhibitor to growth. Online business development strategies should be available through the CFIB
• All input costs are causing difficulties because prices are very competitive due to over capacity in the industry that was created prior to the recession.
• As we are a service company whose work is driven around the gas market and due to the fact that gas prices are at record lows, the short term forecast for work is one of extreme gloom.
• Fiscal 2011 was very difficult.  Fiscal 2012 looking much better.
• We are expanding because we wish to take advantage of historically low borrowing rates. Any sudden shift upward would affect these plans. Energy costs are on the upswing and is one component that affects our cost base. Our pricing is relatively elastic, so we cannot pass the full cost onto our customers. Unskilled and semi-skilled labour continue to be the biggest concern. We continue to rely on the Temporary foreign worker program but any new restrictions on this program would kill our expansion plans.
• I think the market is getting more competitive and that our retail customer base is shrinking. In addition, our customers want innovative, good quality premium products as do our consumers but they do not want to pay for it! HST is definitely affecting this as well as the high freight costs, due to the increase in fuel charges.
• Baring a massive financial crisis, things should continue to chug along
• Slow increase until next economic upheaval
• Business environment in Nova Scotia is getting worse due to provincial government policy including first contract arbitration, high union representation on the Premiers economic advisory council, negative comments toward CFIB by the Minister of Finance and failure of government to address wage and pensions gaps between public and private sector. Halifax environment is also going further downhill due to a void of leadership in the city.
• One keeps hearing about the loss of jobs in Ontario. The 'powers that be' should contribute to the Stratford Beacon Herald for a month and see the number of employment opportunities advertised repetitively. One company in St. Mary's advertises for machinists and assemblers on a regular basis and even has 'Urgent! 'Urgent! on their ads. We have been advertising for Welders and Fabricators on a regular basis on the Job Bank and in the newspapers but there is no one out there looking for work. Our hourly pay rate is $20.00/hour + benefits and a bonus of 10% of annual earnings paid out at Christmas, and it appears that is less attractive that E.I. I was told by one man that he would rather work in construction, because he can stay at home on E.I. most of the winter, and with the cost of gas and babysitter fees it's not worth getting a job for only $20.0/hour!!
• Cappped fees limit us from growing at the rate we want to. We are a very aggressive company which is very important to us and is one of the ways we can grow. We live on volume, with control income.
• I see a tough winter ahead with the Euro Crisis and the ongoing decrease in US Business, particularly housing, and "Buy America"
• Business is good in Calgary but our dealers in Medicine Hat & Lethbridge are hurting
• In my opinion, business in Ontario(in general) are doing well (I would also say all over the world) it's Goverments (all over the world) that are in trouble...they are too far in debt and are bring the people of their Country down....they are the problem...
• We have been lucky in Canada and somewhat protected from the financial storms on the planet, but we cannot be in the eye of the hurricane forever! We will feel it soon, but I remain optimistic for the longer term.
• Due to falling sales, I have closed my business
• We are not giving credit. Credit to stores is via Visa, MC, or cash. We are not in favour of expanding due to tax regulations, tax overhead, CSST, and payroll overhead.
• We are also vastly constrained by the over reach of insurance co's with respect to our industry as they set our door rate, retail pricing and mark up. While our costs are soaring, the income "permitted" us by insurance co's remains painfully stagnant. Auto body repair facilities are being forced to go the way of the dentists, set their own rates; allow the insurance co's to pay what they will and charge the balance to the customer. Or close their doors.
• Business is stable, but my biggest challenge is finding new customers with enough confidence in the economy to make investments in future business, as opposed to simply surviving current challenging times.
• The rise in the Canadian dollar is about to cause me to lose 5% of my business and 4 jobs. The price of electricity with the time of use meters has caused me to go from profitable to no profit and just breakeven.
• When doing the survey, it would be helpful if was noted what percentage of the survey was complete as you progress, that way it would help schedule into our day
• We foresee a slowdown in both private sector and public sector spending while demand for skilled labour remains high. This will put downward pressure on prices long before the slow down impacts wage expectations.
• Given the current economy, I would say that I am satisfied with the level of business but it is definitely down and I don't expect it to improve dramatically in the next 6 months. Because I need to order 2 seasons ahead of time, this has caused some stress as I order based on existing sales. When things deteeriorate in the economy, you end up overstocked.
• Very optimistic
• Sales are up about 5-6%. All the bad neews from Europe seems to have clients buying only what they really need. No frills, and no extras.
• We are currently on a hiring freeze until we accumulate more profit to create a larger buffer in case we enter another resession. In order to do this we have reduced our capital buying, including computers, some building repairs, we are doing more work ourselves as owner.
• The absolute biggest and number one threat are the politicians... on every level they are terrorizing and scarring people into thinking the economy around the world is coming to an end. It is like frantically yelling "fire" in a crowded theatre, and then wondering why people are getting trampled to death trying to exit the building.
• We have a positive outlook
• We have been in the energy savings business for more than 17 years. Some businesses still do not pay enough attention to energy reduction in spite of NS provincial government grants. Doing nothing is false economics. The average payback is about 2 years. That is a 50% return on investment. Who can ignore that? We should be doing more business.
• The increase in Workplace Safety Rates and the HST really has us looking at our business outlook. These drastic increases really affect small businesses.
• My outlook is unusually positive because I am buying clients from a retiring accounting firm.
• Rent and commercial property tax are very high on the College promenade. Rent/tax should be more affordable, in order to survive in this business...if we increase our prices too much, we lose clientele... business has been slow also, because of competition and uncertainty in the economy.
• Looking forward to a more promising 2012
• Generally business is up marginally but the mood is upbeat
• Cost of raw material/commodities--metal (copper) & high Canadian dollar is playing havoc with the manufacturing business.
• Rollercoaster Easy production job go to big machine shops and we get the one off very technical jobs. Work not steady, Hard to make ends meet.
• Government regulations specifically CFIA are a very huge problem to our productivity
• Prospects good.
• Our prices have to go up due to the re implementation of the PST and to help cover the cost of the new Family Day Stat holiday cost. Increasing prices will also deter customers. That will be a day in a slow season with no productivity or revenue generated and the company will also have to cover the cost of paying 11 employees, estimated cost for us is $5000 lost average revenue for the day (this does not include paid advertising, insurance's, mortgages, all fixed costs do not take a holiday) and approx $2200 in wages that must be paid for an actual estimated cost during a slow period that normally carries little or no profit due to the season, total cost for every stat is approx. 7000 to 9000 dollars, at 7 to 10 % that means there are only wages that month and no profit or a loss is more likely. I'm sure Christy Clark never did this math when she quietly slipped us the bill under the table for the family day stat holiday.
• I have noticed a definite decline in my customers' spending money! They just don't seem to have expendable income. All their money seems to be going to living!
• Business in our industry is still very busy, with new power lines being built and more to come, it should continue to be busy for a number of years.
• Ontario has to get the Skilled Trades--Gas fitters and A/C mechanic's for my Business anyway Trained and in the workforce. It is disheartening that the Government only look's at Gov.job's and more paperwork for the small business and energy networking when they don't have the infrastructure to support.
• Business is tough these days. Customers are much tighter with their spending dollars. Supplier costs are going up and it is hard to pass these higher costs onto customers. Quite a dilemna.
• We are in the high end segment of the hospitality business and the strong Canadian $ and anemic international economic landscape has hurt our business. Beyond this the lack of a strong and well supported National and Provincial Marketing Authority has caused significant damage as well.
• Let's hope everyone stops telling the public we're in for more hard times, which makes them spend less money, which makes the whole situation worse!!!!! Please don't do that to us!!!!!
• We are a part time business which is being grown for retirement income. It is growing at an incredible pace and actually have had to turn down clientele due to inability to fulfill existing orders without compromising quality and delivery times. Given our hours of operation, demanded quality and slim margin's due to to economic situations across the border, hiring is not an option.
• Minimum wage increases and subsequent necessary increases to all wages, increasing and non-transparent Credit card fees, Credit card fees on HST and gratuities and shortage of skilled cooks are all major concerns of our business.
• Conservatively positive, nervous but optimistic as we are in a growth phase (entering our 4th year). Taxes (HST) have diminished our profits and reduced our sales. We work so hard and haven't made a profit yet the government gets 13% as a result of our efforts every month!
• Postive Outlook for my Services
• If the media were to cool it somewhat, I think our local economy would be doing just fine. We don't have the problems (yet) that exist in the larger cities. Another biggg problem for us are the number of competitors turning up in the gift market make it very difficult....
• Government needs to regulate unfair businesses that advertise on sites like kijiji where they are not paying taxes nor do they have a business licence. Home base business that ADVERTISE should be fined for non compliance.
• We are a massage therapy clinic and we feel the massage market in our area is saturated. People are more reluctant to spend their disposable income unless they are hurting and really need it. Our business is down and it gets harder to run a business like this, more expensive monthly.
• Unemployed Canadians have no incentive to work. Unemployment insurance, food banks and subsidized housing make working for a living unnecessary. I find it incredible to see 66000 jobs on the Canada Job Bank for Alberta alone, and a unemployment rate of over 7% (nationally). I find this disturbing.
• Not good.
• It is like a light switch has turned off for the amount of work that my company is looking at. I have never have seen it this bad and I have been in business for 16 years.
• Turning down work, can't find experienced help
• I THINK I WILL GET BETTER . IT IS WILL ALSO DEPEND ON HOW WELL WE RUN THE BUSINESS . THE HARDEST PART IS FINDING GOOD DEPENDABLE AND TRAINABLE EMPLOYEES . GIVE US A TAX BREAK FOR HELPING US IN TRAINING PEOPLE TO DO THE JOB PROPERLY .
• As times become tougher , i find there are more that are willing in our industry to work for next to nothing . Too many internet companies that take on zero liabililty because they never have to deal directly with a customer , or take care of warranty issues . Our burden to bear .
• We live in a supply and demand world were demand is dropping in order for the world to feel GREEN! Scary Movie!
• Our business is weather driven to an extent on the restoration side and on the commercial cleaning side it seems that companies reduce their cleaning requirements at the first sign of economic downturn. They may not realize that they affect their building and employee longevity and add to their eventual costs
• Underground economy is our major issue. I have mentioned before the problem with our system not complying with governments T4 submissions. To comply may cost us a huge IT cost when Revenue Canada cannot offer us any solution. Paper submissions has been just fine for many years.
• One of your options should consider the cost gov't charges for various permits, certifications, and other regulatory functions that a business owner is required to pay annually. These costs seem to be creeping up and more new ones appear on the horizon every year. Thanks.
• I am a veterinary practice owner. I find that there is an abundance of people trained in vet assistance and receptionist positions, but when I try to fill the position, there is a lack of people who meet the day-to-day requirements of the job. It's not as though the training is inadequate to the task, but more that new graduates are looking for the softest job they can find. While I am not a demanding manager and I am lenient with staff in terms of time off and shift changes, and I am generous with continuing education credits, etc, I find there is a general lack of work ethic in this generation at both professional and non-professional levels.
• we have recently taken a huge leap of faith and invested in a building in which to relocate a store that we currently rent space for and we also have spent a quite a lot more on seasonal (Christmas) inventory....we were hoping for an improvement in consumer spending, Keeping ourfingers crossed that this was not a huge mistake.
• We work in the resource industry and expect continual growth over the next 5 years
• I am in the Niagara Region where unemployment is VERY high and people can not afford ANYTHING!
• We are in a small town but require skilled workers with demands for big city wages. It is difficult to attract the kind of worker we need at wages we can afford.
• Taxes,insurance,fuel costs,surcharges,and a downward demand is almost closing down our business
• Best it's ever been
• Our problem is with the different factions of the city involved with small business and business zoning and their inability to make the operation of a small business possible. Only next to impossible leaving small business owners in a situation where their first year can make or break them with out any outside influence. Except for the city making it impossible when it should be an easy and possible revitalization of an area due to the hard work of small and local business owners especially in our dying city core.
• I feel a general hesitation of people and companies to comit to projects, major purchases or upgrade living accomidation. Thus stalling any substancial growth in the general economy. There is a downward pressure on all our pricing of products and services. A greater percentage of our clients seek companies that are more cost efficant to supply the services we deliver.
• We are finding lower foot traffic i.e. Fewer people out shopping. More and more people are going to malls and big box areas, that or to the states. We need more information out to the public re shopping local.
• Uncertainty is a killer. Less dispensable cash due to cost of living increase, leaves me with less work to do.
• This has been the worst year since our inception in 1992. We did take on more space which we have not been able to utilize. The staff expect increases. Business is down. We hope for a better year in 2012 as we need to get the finances into a positive situation ... instead of staying in the Line of Credit.
• Looks bleak, will have to lay off at least 1 person before Christmas
• Due to continued weakness I am restructuring and looking to eliminate positions in several areas of my company
• We are short journeymen heavy duty mechanics and journeyman partsmen (I would take an apprentice with some work experience)
• Looking forward to a good year as long as the landlord doesn't put up the rent.
• With the raise in minimum wage i am planning to lay off 7 of my staff after December 2011. The raise will probably shut my entire store down by mid 2012.
• My retail business has been doing quite poorly for 2011 compared to 2010. The higher Canadian dollar and high gas prices did not help me especially since I am in a border town and a lot of my customers are shopping in the USA.
• October which has always been one of our busiest months was very slow. Sales for October were the lowest in 10 years.
• Economy has reduced discretionary disposable income of our clients; therefore our business has dropped. (Veterinary Clinic)
• Business outlook for remainder of year will be same as 2010. I feel 2012 will have challenges due to rising electricity costs food costs and overall increase in living cost. My business cannot keep salaries increasing to cover all of these living costs and therefore consumers will have to decide where to spend and what is important to them. I am expecting a 2% sales increase for 2012 mostly due to higher retails caused by inflation
• We have just purchased five vehicles and our intention is to purchase land and buildings to house our business because we have far outgrown what we have been doing. It is very difficult to train individuals for our instructors and there is not means to write off such costs. We spend ten thousand on each instructor we train. Our business tripled in 2011 and we expect it to double in 2012 again. We have grown from 3 to 15 employees this year and expect to have 40 by fall of 2012 Labour costs are extremely high and our instructors are working 12 hours a day. The overtime is killing all of us and we require more trained staff.
• Dreary
• We have had to work more effectively and efficiently with the dedicated employees. As a result of many changes we are expecting to increase business 15% during the next year.
• Business has been slower than normal over the past few months however, we think it is starting to pick up
• Lack of skilled tradespeople
• Our biggest problem is our strong Canadian dollar and the low cost of merchandise in the US. It's bad enough that we lose our customers to the US, but when OUR own Canadian Customs Officers support the consumers' decision to shop out of country by not collecting applicable taxes and duties, it doesn't help the matter at all. If our Canadian Customs would go by the book and by the penny when dealing with the cross border shopper, two things would happen.... Canada would collect more tax dollars and the cross border shopper would be less tempted by the lower US prices because of the "hassle" at the border and they would shop at home.
• My business is struggling and running in the RED. Wages are eating up my cash flow but I need the staff hours as I am TOO tired to cover more hours myself as well as do the day to day manager duties as I have not been successful in hiring a manager--had to let one go as it lost me money - definitely not qualified.
• Banks are not borrower friendly.
• With regards to future growth, our company more inclined to invest in capital equipment rather than hire additional staff wherever possible due to all the labour laws and costs associated with a larger number of employees.
• We have spent the last 12 years building our small renovation business. This is the worst year (sales) to date. Withdrawl of provincial and federal programs - renovation tax credit, Energy star rebates, along with the HST being introduced (increse in black market or cash renovaitons) have all combined to create a crisis in our industry.
• we are facing competition from unlicensed, uninsured people offering to work for cash and unrealistic prices. Legitimate licensed businesses working by the rules are not protected by regulatory agencies like Metro, Provincial, WSIB, TSSA. Complains are met with the justification that they are understaffed.
• This province is going to hell in a hand bag. The amount of regulatory crap is unbelievable.
• Between insurance, government interference and banks it is very difficult to make a reasonable profit. The other hindrance is competing companies that give there services away but don't do a good job for the consumer. Competing against low paying (wage) companies that aren't competent and underground cash deals . The HST (ON) has certainly had a negative impact on the renovation industry for legitimate companies.
• Our biggest problem is the 3 B's of gov't both in Canada and the U.S. The politics and nit picking on paperwork are ridicules. On top of this the uncertainty of the economy does little to instill confidence in risk taking.
• The biggest problem's are finding skilled labour and financial institutions to loan money, lines of credt etc espcially for us as we are only 1.5 years old
• BUSINESS IS AFFECTED PRIMARILY BY ON-LINE BUYING OF MANY CUSTOMERS. WE ARE NOW ON-LINE BUT THE RETAIL BUSINESS IS VERY CHALLENGING THESE DAYS.
• Regarding the question about "input costs causing difficulties" & the answer; Taxes & regulatory costs, the cost of regulatory compliance cause significantly more difficulty than taxes.
• Property taxes are still a very big concern; they seem to keep going up with no end in sight!
• Overall I see a good outlook for next year. Many of my clients are up 30% to 50% so they're doing well too.
• Overall, our outlook for the winter is negative, but we expect growth in 2012 Q2 and Q3 as the oil & gas sector continues to perform well, contributing to growth in consumer confidence and discretionary spending.
• As I have been saying for 100 years now, it is too expensive to do business in Ontario. Somehow, someway, someone has to get to our fearless, dynamic, decisive leader (McGuinty) and tell him he is slowly destroying the province. The big public sector unions and special interest groups own this guy and it's a shame. We are going the way of Greece
• Would like more of a break on taxes
• Thank you for all you do for us!
• Being a dairy producer not all questions applied to us, so I did not fill out all of them.
• Since I do counselling it isn't the same as a company with inventory.
• Dismal
• Keep up the good work
• As long as the big 3 and the large parts suppliers have their way, manufacturing will continue to go off shore. We still have a hard time competing with Asia. With our high energy costs and high taxes this will not change any time soon.
• Since the federal government yanked my manufacturing approval for no good reason, my business is slowly failing. My guess is max. 3 more years.
• Too much financial doom & gloom and scandals are intimidating shoppers into buying minimal needs and fewer wants.
• So far so good for 2011
• #Watch for sales opportunities and ask for the business
• I am convinced that local, national and international economies are suffering, and that we are embarking on a multi-year recession/depression that national governments are either not aware of, or not telling us about. The outlook for small business, at least in my city, is bleak.
• Our credit card costs have increased dramatically since June. Wages have gone up by 5% and more for select employees - just to keep licensed , skilled employees. We have added benefits and increased those as well - just to retain our employees. Finding good employees since Aug 2011 has become much more difficult
• Fix the HST fiasco. Give non British Columbians a tax break when building their summer home. Do both quickly.
• We show a steady decline for the past 2 years, and things do not look any better for the next 12 months.
• Number of files down 5% from last year. Mutual funds (my pension source) are shrinking.  Leads to lack of consumer confidence. Not a pretty picture.
• The current economic downturn and reluctance of the general purchasers of our products due to the continuing market uncertainty has had a devastating reduction to our sales> Our small community now has several empty businesses... not likely to be filled any time soon... giving the entire community a very undesirable look.
• Employee costs, income tax, property taxes, insurance costs, banking fees etc. quickly absorb any income. It simply costs too much now to be in business these days. The internet is a huge competitor as well that didn't exist when this business started 20 years ago.
• BDC is extremely slow in processing loan application. They ask for so much documents that the whole process becomes very difficult.
• The bank has me on tight line re: line of Credit and Visa as the more one approves the more it is difficult to pay back. She is correct. We tend to use it to keep the doors open. Once the limit is reached, then it is easy to say "That's all we get". ie: It forces my manager to pick up the pace to collect or get sales.
• Cost-cutting will continue.
• Gov't regulation, and bureaucracy is costing too much in administration as I have regulation by two major provincial agencies. The multiple agencies are duplications yet two different regulations and expectations must be answered to without consideration to my business nor is my role as a stakeholder given respect, input as I am mandated beyond any other small business.
• Important to raise the following points: it is still very challenging to work with local banks based on business financing they still want to use your personal money instead of giving business a loan or large Line of Credit even when business financials are available to forecast growth in the business. Also, online purchasing is beginning to show a challenge for local businesses economy (i.e. individuals go into a local store - try on inventory then go online to purchase); the growth of the online will dictate business to pay close attention to customer service/relations to educate community on the importance of keeping business growing at home.
• The cost of fuel has impacted our business the most because it trickles down to the following: The cost of operating our trucks & loaders. The cost increased to contractors and their costs past on to our company. The increased cost for our maintenance oil, parts & freight. In general our fuel costs have increased approximately 25% year over year.
• We are a restaurant and banquet facility, thanks for your continued good works for the little guys.
• Added credit would help cash flow, but bank is hesitant to increase, and I don't necessarily disagree.
• Usually the winter months are tough at the bakery. But the business has GREAT potenial,  in the Ont market and big new contracts in the New England States.
• The celebration of our banking system (ie our protected large chartered banks) by politicians has resulted in record profits while being even more risk adverse than before. While this is great for the banks, and the bragging rights of our federal politicians, it is hamstringing Canada's businesses in limited availability of funds for new or even sustaining investment. As a minimum, the barriers should be taken down in order to allow others who may be interested in partnering in what the current banks judge are too risky ventures to make that investment here, rather than doing it outside of Canada with our present and future competition.
• Govt has to think better before imposing things on Employers that cost money ex: An employee takes 6 week six leave...leaves us very short staffed (critical position) . We have to hold and offer job back..it happened before only to have the employee tell us in week six they decided not to return..then we have to start looking Adding an extra paid holiday...just means we close and keep all the expenses and get no revenue in return on the closed day...but all expenses remain the same.
• Overall seeing a reduction of business activity in a variety of markets. We have a diverse clientele and all seem to be cautious in their spending as well as budget forecasts.
• The biggest thing to stagnate my business this year was the 8% HST increase, this made it impossible to increase my own prices to keep up with the yearly inflation cost increase of the business
• Get past December 21 2012 We should all be fine.
• We fall prey to unlicensed tradesman who come here and work for nothing on a cash basis. The workmanship is below average and the prices they sell for would compare to prices they would sell for in their country. I don't know how they do it. We get constant feedback of being 10 t0 20% higher in our price and yet we were selling the same product 15 years ago with no problem with price. We have to run an honest business and pay our bills and so should the government. I didn't put these guys in debt, if I ran my business like these guys I would be bankrupt and in jail a long time ago. We need to eliminate the contractors that are doing shoddy workmanship with low prices and leaving the homeowner with the mess to clean up down the road. These newcomers down play by the same rules we have been governed by for decades. The government needs to implement...PROMISE TO PERFORM LEGISLATION and then we might have a shot at getting to where we are going with dignity instead of shame.
• I expect the next 2 or 3 years to be difficult in new home construction.
• I am concerned about rising wages. We are not even out of recession and I found it harder to find people that want to work this fall.
• We are a small banquet hall and business banking fees are outrageous. To help us reduce fees, we investigated on-line banking to help with pre-authorized payments on-line statements and found it was going INCREASE our monthly fees. Also, an increase to our LOC was denied because we didn't want enough money! We were out of the banquet market for a while and are now back full-swing increasing our bookings. As a result of being out of the market, we used up our $50,000 LOC and needed to increase it by about 20% until our cash flow increased. We were denied and they suggested we apply for a $300,000 loan instead or reapply in 6 months when we can prove an increase in bookings - and when that happens we won't need the increased LOC.
• Unfortunately our business is based on customer demand, flooring is not one of them, but box stores sure are doing a killing, perhaps they don't make money at it, but increased their traffic for other products which we don't provide. We have an invasion of China at our doors steps.
• HOUSING AND MANPOWER SHORTAGES IN LAB WEST WILL EVENTUALLY KILL MOST BUSINESSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Stable at the moment, but very nervous about the short term future of the economy.
• Manitoba's growth has been flat for so many years. Our company continues to see negative growth in all markets and as a supplier we see dwindling opportunities in Manitoba. Our Province is well behind even Saskatchewan, we are a have not province. We see very little economic growth for a number of reasons. Lack of vision by all levels of government, lack of creative, innovative thinking by the same levels. Little to no incentives to develop business opportunities in this Area of Canada. High costs of doing business in Manitoba. To name just a few areas. The represenative organization like CFIB have very little bite when it comes to making our business owners point of view recognized. It is time to do something as a collective unit and make them . The powers that be see that we as a Province are not reaching the mark. And in most cases not even leaving the gate.
• We have been in business for 5 years and are hopeful that the worst is over - if we made it thru the worst recession in years - the outlook can only get better. However, it will take us some time to dig out of our debt.
• The first half of 2011 was poor in this business and it improved in the second half. The outlook for 2012 is about the same. I don't see much of an improvement in 2012. I am hoping it does improve because it is hurting us and also all our competition.
• Rising unpredictable fuel costs, increasing taxes and declining client spending make it difficult if not impossible to price our services accurately. We continue to make our payments, but see no reduction in debt ratio as we keep needing to maximize our credit to get through the months.
• I have recently laid off many of my employees and reduced the hours of the remaining. While I am trying to stay positive, my outlook does not look good.
• Being an exporter: foreign currency fluctuation (specifically USD) is causing less profitability. As well as bank charges related to processing foreign credit cards, is causing less profit and deters customers from buying foreign goods. Brokerage and shipping (fuel costs) are also increasing dramatically causing less profit.
• Demand is down, management has to maintain effective cost cutting strategies and increase sales and customer base.
• Have been self-employed for over 20 yrs and wouldn't want it any other way. Difficult only due to financial change since my husband is now disabled and still waiting for CPP. Other than that, business has always it's up and downs but have always been able to weather the storms.
• Sorry for all the negative input but we sold all our equipments because we lost all our contracts to foreign competitors. The Ontario government directives to school boards had disastrous effects on bus operators in the Timmins area. As of this summer we are no longer in business.
• Sask work enviroment is great, never short of work
• How come we can't operate like the farming industry. Government rebates, insurance on income. property tax discounts. income tax deferals.
• Banks are terrible to deal with if you are small business- especially if you live in the north. We have been in business over 35 years- I have always made sure my debt is paid- we are still operating & the bank still gives us a hard time- I have now started a savings plan( of which I get no interest) that will eventually be my line of credit!!!!!
• The most significant factor affecting our business is the inability or unwillingness of governments stop trying to micromanage and over-regulate business, and to reduce the bureaucracy and its overpaid unionized workforce that is always holding us to ransom.
• After approaching business development bank and 2 other financial institutions and being turned down bankruptcy is almost inevitable, which is sad considering we have guaranteed government contracts still good for 3 years, and have been contractors for 14 years. Seems that because we've never had personal credit ie no credit rating we aren't considered good enough to take the chance on.
• The downturn is going to happen and if one of the European countries goes into disorderly default the economic down draft will be extreme.
• Aug to Oct better than expected. Industrial and commercial building sales up, residential building steady.
• I believe in Canada we could promote ''Buy Canadian'' more than we do , and why we should , not just a pompus statement by our Governments but a genuine movement to educate Canadians as to why buy Canadian and what happens to our economy if we do not , as we do not have to look very far across our border to see what happens when we do not buy domestic manufactured goods.
• Wasn't able to obtain a business line of credit due to personal bills that was created for the start up of my company
• In the aftermath of post Olympic trauma, business sucks. What are you doing to lower the taxmans bill, Fed, Prov, Muni? Off shore ownership is destroying commercial tenants, the echo chamber of empty apts.
• The industry of farming i feel margins will be tighter due to rising input cost and downward pressure in the market
• Keep up the good work
• Scotiabank has actually lowered their account service charge fees. But it's the Credit card & debit card fees through Paymenttech that we are concerned about.
• Supply of input and shortage of labour/work ethic is creating a very difficult business environment in our industry. We can't compete with the oil industry and large projects for labour.
• I feel that things will get better it seems to have hit bottom and is starting back up. I have been in business a long time but have never seen a recession like this one. It is so up and down.
• I'm a public accountant. When unemployment goes up, self-employment goes up, demand for accounting support goes up.
• 2012 is looking great for our industry
• With the events going on with markets (due to economic events outside of the country) consumer confidence is going to remain low for the next year or two. This will have a direct effect on whether or not I will be able to maintain current levels of sales.
• New businesses are not given credit unless they can show a minimum 2 year history. Impossible to do when you are a new business. Therefore you have to rely on private sources and are held personally liable.
• I do not have a positive outlook for the next year or two due to all the turmoil in the markets and foreign debt crisis that is affecting the spending habits of individuals. The average dollar value of my contracts have steadily been diminishing. People are reluctant to spend when they are unsure of the future.
• I have made a significant effort to keep overhead expenses to a minimum. My revenues in the past three years have continued to decrease. My staff received a small increase in wages this year for the first time in three years. To offset the increase there was an increase in charges for business services. I have not increased my own income in several years to keep the business financially viable. I am able to see the downturn in business revenues in relation to the economy.
• The biggest challenge I am facing is the shortage of skilled/qualified workers; actually in my region, there is a shortage of workers across the board. The other huge challenge are the government policies that affect small businesses and that never seem to end. they are never designed/developed with small rural regions in mind. It has become so cumbersome it is impossible to operate effectively.
• Due to high unemployment in our area (sw on) many customers are neglecting services which they can't afford and due to high competition as a sole veterinarian I cant' work more hrs. to make ends meet.
• Better days ahead