Canadian small businesses are not looking to the Internet to help grow their businesses and few are looking to export opportunities for growth, says a survey of 400 small businesses.
While the Ipsos-Reid study commissioned by delivery service UPS Canada shows that 75 per cent of small-business owners are optimistic about the current environment for small business in Canada, only 25 per cent anticipate tapping the international market for further growth opportunities.
Nearly 40 per cent of owners/managers view the Internet as having little or no impact on their business over the next three to five years, and only 17 per cent said they feel ready to capitalize on the Internet as a growth opportunity.
“Expanding into international markets and leveraging technology is often important to the growth of small business,” says Greg Kane, UPS Canada director of marketing. “Business owners can benefit from these findings by assessing if they are adequately maximizing all opportunities for growth, particularly through the Internet.”
Other findings from the research include:
* Almost seven in 10 (68 per cent) respondents expect their firms to experience increased profitability over the next 12 months. This figure increases to 78 per cent when a five-year horizon is considered.
* Only one-third of those surveyed said they do business outside Canada.
* Less than one-fifth (17 per cent) of small enterprises feel they have the adequate resources to support developments in e-business, and only three in 10 (30 per cent) believe they have a sufficient technical platform in place to support this area.
The survey also indicates that small-business leaders consider a skilled workforce and the existing level of economic security as the top two advantages of operating a small business in Canada.
Taxation levels and government bureaucracy were mentioned most often (74 per cent and 66 per cent, respectively) as the main disadvantages.
Skilled workers were cited most often as the types of employees required (33 per cent) for business needs. The large majority (80 per cent) indicated that it takes up to three months to hire a new employee.
Small businesses mentioned recruiting and retaining employees (21 per cent and 14 per cent), training employees (27 per cent) and managing compensation (16 per cent) as among the most predominant HR challenges encountered.
The UPS Canada Small Business Monitor June 2004 survey was conducted in May 2004 and drew 400 responses from a random sample of owners or senior personnel from small and medium-sized businesses (companies that employ between one and 49 full-time employees) that were drawn from Dun & Bradstreet databases. Results are considered accurate within ±4.9 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
