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The following column by Cambridge Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Greg Durocher appears in the fall edition of INSIGHT Magazine which recognizes October as Small Business Month, stressing the important impact small businesses make in our community. 

Can you imagine being a large multinational organization that supplies a particular product to multiple customers, some located here and or south of the border and then suddenly, with one swift swipe of a pen, U.S. President Donald Trump changes the course of your business, possibly forever. 

The process to turn an oil supertanker in the ocean is painstakingly slow and takes several hours to change directions due to its size. The same can be said for a large multinational organization, making it almost impossible for them to find new markets.

But for small businesses this often can happen multiple times during a year. Suppliers change, customers change, products change; those sudden changes are just part of the game.

Most of the small business owners I know became comfortable doing what they do with their U.S. consumer or supplier, but we all know times have changed, and we need to begin immediately mitigating more damage to our businesses. We need to be looking elsewhere for suppliers, customers, and partnerships, and for diversification of our product offerings. We must go back to the basics of what got us here in the first place when we were ‘inventing our business’. 

When every small business started, its owners and had no idea where their next customer would come from and never expected that a supplier would leave town or close-up shop. But most small businesses quickly learn to adapt not because it was easy, but because it was necessary.

Small businesses are nimble

Small businesses are nimble and can skirt past economic transitions because changes can be made on the fly. Going back to our supertanker analogy, it doesn’t take several hours to turn a ‘corner’ because changes can be made immediately since the decisionmaker is YOU!

While we officially celebrate small businesses this month, please remember we celebrate them every month. Every single business started out as a small business, nothing more than an idea or dream that found its way to becoming a reality.

Approximately 98% of all businesses registered in Canada are considered small, defined as having under 100 employees. However, what is even more amazing is that 70% of these have 10 or fewer employees. Here at home, the City of Cambridge’s ‘Data Hub’ shows approximately 94% of our 3,539 businesses are SMEs and employ nearly 35,000 people.

We at the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce like to say, ‘Small Business is Too Big to Ignore’. Why? Because in every community small business is big business.

Only entrepreneurs understand how difficult it is to start a business and keep it going. In fact, sometimes it takes more than one, or even two, kicks at the can to make it happen. 

To all those determined and focused entrepreneurs out there, the Chamber not only celebrates your accomplishments this month, but we want to help by connecting you with other sources and businesses.

Recently I connected some local CEOs who didn’t know one another since I thought they should meet (they were neighbours), and now they are doing business together. That wasn’t the intent, but it became the result. 

We can connect you locally or internationally as well and are hoping to provide you an opportunity to join trade missions to other countries that are looking to partner with Canadian small businesses. When we help you grow, you make room for more businesses. We are here always and can help you lead your company to success. 

Cheers to all our small businesses and thanks for your incredible contribution to our economic future.

Facts about small businesses:

Cambridge:

Of 3,539 businesses, 3,319 are SMEs which employ 34,893 people and generate an estimated $8.5 billion annually in revenue. Source: City of Cambridge Data Hub

Overview & economic role:

• Canada has about 1.1 million SMEs (businesses with 1‑499 employees). Source: Canada International

•  Of those, 98.1% are small businesses, i.e., fewer than 100 employees. Source: ISED Canada

• SMEs account for about 63.7% of private‑sector employment. Within that, small businesses employ 5.8 million people; medium enterprises another 2.1 million. Source: Canada International

Distribution & survival:

• More than half of all small employer businesses are in Ontario and Quebec. British Columbia also has a large share. Source:  ISED Canada

• Among small businesses started in different sectors, goods‑producing small businesses tend to have slightly better long‑term survival: 29.5% of small businesses in goods sectors survive at least 20 years, compared with 23.9% in services. Source: ISED Canada

Challenges: confidence, financial health, costs:

•  Only about 21% of Canadian small businesses in mid‑2025 report being in strong economic health. Source: Retail Insider

•  Business confidence has been eroding - in one survey (Zensurance), only 58% of small business owners were optimistic about the rest of 2025, down from 70% in 2024. Source: HCAMag 

•  Rising costs (labor, inputs, etc.), weaker demand, and uncertainty are recurring concerns. Source: Retail Insider

Optimism vs reality:

• Many small businesses are optimistic: e.g., 86% report feeling more positive about their future according to one Xero report. Source: Canadian HR Reporter

• But optimism is tempered: fewer expect strong growth, many are still grappling with high costs, and only a minority see themselves in strong financial health.