Recession? What recession? That’s the feeling from a majority of small businesses in Canada, according to an RBC poll released Thursday morning.
More than half (56%) of Canadian entrepreneurs say the recession had either no impact or was even positive for their business. A wider majority (72%) is optimistic about their business success during the next year.
This optimism is despite the fact that nearly 60% of small business owners do not think the recession is over yet.
Nevertheless, 23% said they would add staff over the next year, given the majority (63%) believe the outlook for the Canadian economy is positive.
The challenges facing small businesses include finding clients and developing their market (22%), keeping a steady workload (13%), and maintaining sufficient cash flow and financing growth (11%).
Of the 36% of entrepreneurs that experienced a negative impact due to the recession, 72% said the main impact was a decline in sales revenue and 54% citied fewer business opportunities during the downturn.
Those that made mistakes over the past two years say they should have done more networking or been more aggressive in soliciting clients. Two-thirds said they should have been more proactive in seeking advice and 54% said they should have developed a better business plan.
The RBC report also noted small business trends develeping over the past few years.
It found the percentage of women entrepreneurs rose to 52% in 2010 compared with 44% in 2007. B.C. and the prairie provinces had the most women entrepreneurs at 58%.
It also found the majority of small business owners are over the age of 55 compared with 39% in 2005. That is likely related to the trend that 26% of business owners this year were professionals prior to starting their own business, up from 18% in 2007.