The results are in and across the country entrepreneurs are growing more optimistic about the economic expectations of startups and small businesses, according to a new survey.
The survey, issued by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business CFIB), polled 1,178 random CFIB members to determine if the country's economic outlook is improving. Overall, what they call the Business Barometer index rose 1.7 points to 64 last month. The Barometer measures how business owners expect their businesses to perform in the next year on a scale of 0 to 100. Anywhere between 65 and 70 is considered to be growing at its potential.
"The gain in this month’s barometer is really fueled by Ontario, which is reporting optimism levels above the national average," says Ted Mallett, CFIB’s vice-president and chief economist, in an article that ran in Techvibes.com
Local entrepreneurs agreed.
"I definitely feel that 2014 is going to be a very successful year," Vlad Khomutov, a Toronto-based technology entrepreneur and founder of crowd-published social magazine Cover, says in the article. "As a tech startup founder, my playing field— and my audience—is global, so I can go after opportunities in markets that suit my strategy, while staying in Toronto. More entrepreneurs are realizing that they no longer need to move to San Francisco to successfully launch their business. This makes it more lucrative for founders to stay in their hometowns, which boosts their local economies in return. This is the reason why some areas such as Ontario are seeing that boost."
Ontario's Business Barometer Index rose from 62.9 to 65.4, the largest increase of all the province indexes. Vancouver remained the highest scoring province by maintaining its 68.1 index. Not all provinces showed increases, however. The index fell in Manitoba (62.6), Saskatchewan (63.7), and Alberta (67.1).
"Over the next few months, one in four businesses plans to hire more full-time staff," Mallett says in the article. "This is compared to the eight per cent who plan to cut back. Looking at the bigger picture, 44 per cent of owners feel their business is ‘good’, while only eight per cent say it’s ‘bad’. I think this makes it one of the more positive readings we’ve had lately."
Read the full story
here.
Original Source: Techvibes