Skip to content
 

Media Room

Press Kits - Business Banking - Small Business Week 2009

Media Room


TD Canada Trust Small Business Week Alberta Highlights

  • What keeps small business owners in Alberta up at night? Thirty-eight percent say they biggest worry is the impact of the recession (vs. 31% nationally), followed by cash flow (24% vs. 28% nationally)
  • Fifty-eight percent of small business owners in Alberta are optimistic that 2010 will be a good year or their best year yet
  • When asked to rate their business’ performance this year, 16% of Alberta small business owners gave themselves an A or A+, indicating that they have had solid growth or their best year yet (vs. 19% nationally). Forty-nine percent gave themselves a B, indicating that they did as well as they expected (vs. 44% nationally). Twenty-two percent gave their business a C, saying that they did not have the year they planned (vs. 21% nationally). Only 2% of small business owners in the region gave themselves an F (same as national stat)
  • Of those small business owners who gave themselves an A or A+, 53% attributed their good year to the fact that they were not impacted by the recession (53% vs. 56% nationally)
  • Thirty-four percent of small business owners said the recession was their biggest challenge in the past year (vs. 32% nationally), followed by cash flow (32% vs. 25% nationally)
  • How were Alberta’s small business owners impacted by the recession? Thirty-six percent lost some business (vs. 31% nationally,) 19% are in more debt than they were 12 months ago, 9% were forced to downsize their operations or staffing and 1% say they came close to closing (vs. 5% nationally). Interestingly, 7% grew their business despite the recession and 1% grew their business because of the recession
  • Nationally, small business owners in Alberta are mostly likely to anticipate that the recession will be their biggest challenge next year (38% vs. 30% nationally)
  • When asked what changes, if any, their company made over the past year, 41% of small business owners in Alberta said they reduced operating costs (vs. 40% nationally)
  • Albertan small business owners say the best thing about owning your own business is controlling their own destiny (35%), followed by better work life balance (31%), and being the boss, not reporting to anyone (22%)