Small business owners are optimistic about their future but say the city isn’t meeting their needs.
More than 100 businesses responded to the 15th annual Thunder Bay Ventures small business opinion survey, released Wednesday morning. With 74 per cent saying they feel economic growth in the city is positive, none planning to lay off staff in the next year and 83 per cent feeling secure, ventures manager Royden Potvin said the survey shows some good signs.
Sixty-nine per cent of those surveyed expect modest growth in the coming year.
“They’re all coming back positive. The trend is positive,” he said. “I think that’s really good news.”
Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce president Harold Wilson agrees. With an average of six employees or less, the small businesses surveyed are usually lead indicators of how an economy is doing.
“They’re the first ones that are sometimes hit if there are negative parts in the economy or when things are going well,” Wilson said.
Although only 27 per cent of participants see business from the mining sector, it scored an average of 3.85 out of 5 for importance. Potvin said that’s because most businesses expect it to grow in the future.
Media and political exposure to the sector has helped that perception.
“That feeds back to business and is reflected in that expectation,” he said.
Despite the optimism, businesses weren’t so kind to the city itself. From the labour pool to transportation costs, not one of the 11 questions about whether the city met business needs scored close to an average of three out of five.
City council representation and decisions, 2.25, scored the lowest in the category. Potvin said it’s typical of other years that the city receives low scores.
“We don’t know exactly what need is not being met,” he said.
Wilson said strategies are in place, such as the chamber’s small business committee, to try and address some of the concerns.
“There’s always issues about zoning, new regulations that come down the pipe that I’m not going to say are fine for larger businesses but they either have the management capacity or the financial wherewithal to be able to meet some of those obligations some of these smaller businesses don’t,” he said.
The average age for the mail-out survey, of which 700 were distributed, was 50. The average business had been operating for nearly 20 years.
Potvin said that is probably a reflection of the aging population of the city but the survey might shift to other mediums soon to reach out to younger business owners.
