Alberta Business Beat Volume 1, March 2013

Transcript:Alberta Business Beat Volume 1, March 2013:
Alberta Business Beat Volume 1, March 2013 Background and Methodology Background & Objectives Background ATB Financial commissioned NRG Research Group to conduct a survey of 300 randomly selected small- to medium-sized businesses in Alberta each quarter, beginning in Q4-FY2013. The purpose of the study is to gain an understanding the challenges faced by small- to medium-sized businesses in Alberta, and to track confidence in the business climate in Alberta. Research Objectives Measure business owners and managers’ perceptions of the current business climate compared with six months ago, as well as their assessments of what the business climate will be like six months from now; Understand internal and external factors that may impact small- to medium-sized businesses in Alberta, such as reliance on the price of natural resources or the challenges of various areas of business management; Gauge the likelihood of investment plans in a number of different areas, such as investment in technology or expansion into new foreign or domestic markets; Understand potential challenges for small- to medium-sized businesses in growing their businesses; and, Profile the firmographics as well as respondent demographics for small- to medium-sized businesses in Alberta. Methodology Randomly selected Alberta SME’s Qualifying Businesses < 500 employees <$20 million annual revenues Must be financial decision makers or influencers Excluded agriculture, government, financial institutions, media, market research, PR, advertising and communications sectors Field dates: January 22-31, 2013 Telephone + online option Over 3,000 businesses contacts made and 303 completed the survey Margin of error is +/- 5.8% Key Insights Key Insights Optimism remains high despite talk of the ‘bitumen bubble’. Alberta’s population is growing quickly and there is still a skilled labour gap. There a need for succession planning in Alberta. Detailed Findings Alberta Business Landscape Make-up of Alberta Businesses 98.1% employ less than 50 people (Small) Source: Statistics Canada, Business Register (based on business locations), December 2011. 81.6% employ less than 5 people (Micro) 1.8% employ 50 to less than 500 employees (Mid-sized) Small & Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) Business Confidence Optimistic about the future Alberta Economy 76% will be better off or the same Your Company 87% will be better off or the same 86% of Alberta SMEs agree their business success is tied to the Alberta economy “HOW DO YOU THINK …………… WILL BE SIX MONTHS FROM NOW?” Source: ATB Financial, Survey on Alberta SMEs, January 2013, 303 respondents. The price of oil and gas has