The Marathon has Begun (for business owners)
Canada lost 1m jobs in March with more than that expected in April. (We lost 426k jobs in the entirety of the 08–09 recession).
490k of those 1m jobs were lost in small businesses that employ 20 or less.
Small business makes up 46% of the Canadian economy. It is too big to fail and too complex to save in its entirety.
Service hit first and will come back online last. 79% of the Canadian economy is service based. Physical distancing is particularly problematic for this sector.
Women are hit very hard in the workplace and in the home during this.
The tightening and loosening of physical distancing protocols makes a recovery staggered at best in the pre-vaccine period.
This low touch economy with an emphasis on safety will be clunky and expensive to navigate.
The post-vaccine period will have new Customer Buying Habits firmly established and a long road to recovery.
I did not think I would experience an event as Cataclysmic as the Second World War on society. I was wrong. This will have an impact every bit as large. And probably bigger.
I’m optimistic but I’m not blind.
This rebuild will take considerable stamina.
The sprint is over, the marathon has begun.
