BANKING ON DISAPPOINTMENT? MANY ENTREPRENEURS EXPECTING LESS FROM CANADIANS, BANKS AND GOVERNMENT DURING RECESSION
TORONTO, Dec. 12, 2022 /CNW/ - The Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) Canada, a group of 1038 business leaders, who are the owner, founders or controlling shareholders of companies with revenues of least $1-10 million + a year, are weighing in on what's currently keeping them up at night.
Asked a series of entrepreneur-specific questions, EO business leaders are sending a clear message that Canadians, governments and banks can do better to support homegrown businesses during the looming recession.
1. Do the 'wrong' thing?
63% of EO Entrepreneurs polled believe that Canadians will NOT buy Canadian during a recession. Only 10% said they thought Canadians would buy Canadian and 27% optimistically said 'maybe.'
"We're clearly seeing that Entrepreneurs are questioning if Canadians will actually buy Canadian during the expected recession," said Dominique Laverdure, Regional Chair of EO Canada and President and Founder of Rouge marketing. "On the one hand, Canadians are struggling with the very real cost of inflation, increasing food prices and interest rates, but if they don't buy Canadian when we are all struggling, many Canadian businesses will suffer. This will inevitably lead to layoffs and even business closures, so we all need to keep a 'we're in it together' attitude through these difficult financial times."
2. Poilievre or no one!
Asked who their preferred leader would be during a recession, a decisive 68% of EO Canada Entrepreneurs polled said Pierre Poilievre.
24% said 'none of the current federal leaders.'
Only 7% said Prime Minister Trudeau
1% said, Jagmeet Singh
Only 9% of Entrepreneurs cite Trudeau as their preferred leader during the next phase of the COVID crisis.
27% preferred 'none of the current leaders.'
(NOT) a glowing review
40% of Entrepreneurs said that Trudeau did just 'okay' with support for SME's during the pandemic
35% said that he did 'badly'
Only 21% said he did 'well'
3. Banking on disappointment?
A whopping 74% of EO Canada Entrepreneurs polled said that they think Major banks will NOT support businesses during a recession.
A surprising split
Entrepreneurs are surprisingly split on how well banks supported businesses during the COVID crisis. 48% said they did NOT support businesses compared to 50% who say that they did.
4. Moving on out?
Nearly a quarter (24%) of Entrepreneurs polled are considering moving out of Canada to rising interest rates.
53% would consider relocating their business operations for significant tax rebates.
21% would move their operations to Alberta vs. 15% to BC and 7% to Ontario.
5. Best (delayed) plans
Asked 'how a recession would impact their businesses,' over a quarter of Entrepreneurs polled (28%) said it would 'slow down expansion plans.'
Other Impacts of the recession on business:
A 'major hit' to profitability - 23%
Worker layoffs – 17%
Pausing of business plans – 5%
6. Winter (recession) is coming
28% of EO Canada Entrepreneurs polled cite the 'recession' as their top current concern as a business owner.
59% of Entrepreneurs believe that we will be 'in a true recession within the next 12 months'
Nearly a quarter (24%) believe we are already in a recession.
8% optimistically say that 'we are not in a recession.'
Ending on a high note
The majority of Entrepreneurs (68%) say that they did NOT lose faith in doing business in Canada during the pandemic.
The Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) is a global, peer-to-peer network of more than 14,000+ influential business owners with 193 chapters in 60 countries. Founded in 1987, EO is the catalyst that enables leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow, leading to greater success in business and beyond.
1038 members of the Entrepreneurs' Association (EO Canada) were recently asked a series of Startup-related questions via an online survey. Acting as a focus group for elite Canadian entrepreneurs who are the owner, founders or controlling shareholders of companies with revenues of at least $1 million -10 million + a year, the EO Canada membership weighed in on the anticipated challenges for Entrepreneurs during an expected recession.
Contact
Patrick McCaully
Pointman News Creation
[email protected]
SOURCE The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Canada
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