There is no question that small businesses have been deeply impacted by the past recession. In only two years (from 2007 to 2009), roughly 10,000 SME’s (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) have exited the market. Although this may sound upsetting, for the past five years, 80% of new businesses have survived their first year, and 72% of businesses survived their second. Small businesses have slowly been making their comeback, and in all of Canada, they employ over eight million employees and they represent fifty-four percent of the nation’s payroll. Some of the setbacks that are stopping these businesses from flourishing include the high costs on input, the fluctuating demand, and the increase in demand.

I honestly believe that a reason that British Columbia has the highest rate of startup companies (7.4%, the lowest is Ontario at 3.9%) is because of the high demand to be ‘unique.’ The citizens don’t want to be having coffee at the local Starbucks, they want to stand out from their peers and have coffee from one of the boutiques on Main Street. The main reason for the flourishing companies is that they are all different from each other and can provide a new outlook when compared to the larger chain companies that can be found all over the world.

Source:

http://www.rbc.com/newsroom/_assets-custom/pdf/20140930-sme.pdf