Making payroll, paying supplier bills and higher fuel costs are the top concerns for small-business owners in B.C., according to a new TD Canada Trust survey.
The survey also found that cashflow concerns are keeping more than 30% of B.C. small-business owners awake at night. While they were a major concern a few months ago, rising fuel costs are now a concern for only 14% of business owners.
Despite the anxieties identified by survey respondents, business owners have had a good year so far in 2008. Almost three-quarters of respondents graded their business performance as an A+, A or B, indicating they had solid growth or did as well as they expected.
Providing the right products and services at the right time, hiring great talent and retaining the right people were the main reasons cited for their success this year.
Looking ahead into an uncertain economic future, businesses were most concerned with the same cashflow concerns as this year. Managing growth and fuel costs were other top concerns.
Despite the current economic crisis, small-business owners still pointed to the environment as a top priority. Almost 80% of respondents said it was important to run an environmentally responsible business.
Business owners, however, noted that costs and lack of credible industry providers were the biggest barriers to adopting more environmentally friendly measures.