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Small Business in Canada - Hear Them Roar

Copyright May 17, 2003 by Arupa L. Tesolin

It’s not everyday I get to spend time with a real live hero. Recently I met with Catherine Swift, President of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Catherine is known with great respect among pundits, politicians, banks, and other power-brokers in Canada for telling it straight and going to bat on behalf of the issues and priorities of Canada’s growing small business sector. 

This sector now produces 50% of Canada’s gross domestic product, represents 75% of the Canadian economy and 1 million businesses in Canada. 75% of these have less than 5 employees; average is 11.  Not all businesses are “small”, employee size ranges from 1- 500.  Industry range is highly variable, from agriculture to technology and everything in between.

As you can imagine, management and training issues in small businesses are dramatically different than large business.  Not only do they lack the large infrastructure that typically provides for intellectual growth of employees, the pace of business is much greater with people generally managing more than one function.  A common management problem is resource staff shortage which, coupled with paperwork demands and costs imposed by government, adds up to a high workload toll for the owner who typically does it.  Small companies have less money for training and do less medium term planning than larger companies.

68% of small and mid-size companies are not using e-learning to their advantage to leverage training needs.  Many of them experience skills and trades shortages in finding employees, or have cost restrictions in paying higher wages for better employees.  The sector is also more competitive than others and opportunity cost to acquire business can be comparatively higher.

Management attitudes tend toward retaining good staff rather than layoffs.  Owners and directors would often sooner reduce their own earnings than lay off good staff.  Other issues are succession planning, the high costs, both time and money, of information loads and technology adaptation. 

Unlike the US with its “culture of capitalism”, Canada has a history of not adoring its own entrepreneurs.  Attitudes are gradually changing and small business owners are getting more respect these days than in the past.  But there’s still a way to go.

Catherine shared some interesting bio-data about small business owners.  Most are first-born, all are risk-takers.  They are professional, have integrity, are very independent, often anti-establishment, autonomous, and value their freedom.  What unites them is that they all in some way want to make a contribution to the society in which they live.  Many are community leaders.  In employees they look for basic traits, enthusiasm and a willingness to work. 

And thanks to Catherine and her colleagues at CFIB they have a good support network too. Visit CFIB at www.cfib.ca.

Arupa Tesolin is the founder of Intuita, a strategic learning company and "The Intuita 3-MINUTE SOLUTIONS^TM" for INTUITION, INNOVATION, VISION, & STRESS. The Intuita On-Line Learning Institute offers management & employee training programs thru your desktop. She is the recognized author of numerous international articles on intuition in business, a trainer, speaker and consultant. 905.271.7272, www.intuita.com, or email.