“It’s encouraging and a little surprising to see a majority of small business owners, entrepreneurs, and self-employed professionals as confident as they are when looking ahead. However, record-high inflation, the cost of gasoline, and supply chain reliability remain top-of-mind for many. Also, there are worries about a recession, and the pandemic is not over yet,” notes Danish Yusuf, Founder and CEO of Zensurance.
Yusf added: “Nevertheless, these results speak to Canadian business owners’ resiliency. Their confidence that consumer demand will remain strong and they’ll be successful despite economic headwinds is inspiring.”
Thirty-six percent of respondents who were asked to rate the pandemic’s effect on their businesses or professions since the beginning of 2022 think it was moderately detrimental. Thirty-one per cent of people think it had little to no effect, while 21% feel it had a substantial impact on them.
A small minority have seen an increase in business because of the outbreak. Nearly 7% and 4%, respectively, feel it had a moderately and considerably favorable impact.
Even though most poll participants expressed optimism about their prospects, slightly more than 52% of them acknowledged that their companies could not afford to incur additional debt to support critical projects or initiatives. In contrast, only 29% of people feel they can afford to take on more debt in 2022, and over 18% are unsure.
