Opinion: Small businesses – kick-starting and driving local economies

Submitted by the Anishinabek Nation Economic Development Department

In our previous article, we discussed the importance of diversification in the drafting of our community economic development plans and how the development of a local economy would benefit every single community member in some fashion. Though the example from the article used an Impact Benefit Agreement as the economic driver, small businesses could also be the catalyst for change in our communities.

We all know that large businesses like mining, manufacturing, and forestry companies employ many people, but did you know that overall small businesses employ far more people than the large companies combined? According to the Industry Canada Key Small Business Statistics Report from November 2019, large businesses with more than 499 employees accounted for only 10.5% of all employed people in Canada, while small businesses with less than 100 employees accounted for 69.8% of all employed people.

The Aboriginal Population Profile in the 2016 Census identified that there were over 50,000 Indigenous people who were self-employed, with approximately 10,000 of those in Ontario.  While there is not a lot of reliable data to support a discussion regarding Indigenous small business statistics, there is currently a great deal of work being undertaken by the First Nation Information Governance Centre, the Anishinabek Nation Skills Inventory and Labour Market Information Pilot Project, and other organizations like Anishinabek Employment and Training Services to generate reliable labour force data.

So, if the above information is correct, it would mean that those large companies with which we sign Impact Benefit Agreements employ far less people than small businesses do.  Would it not make some sense to focus some of our economic development planning on the small business sector since it shows potential for real growth and sustainable economies?  Now, we cannot argue that these Impact Benefit Agreements with large companies do provide immediate financial benefits for our communities and employment for individuals, but it could be argued that supporting the start-up and ongoing operation of small businesses in our communities would have a greater, longer-term benefit to developing sustainable economies in our communities.  These small businesses could employ more people locally, resulting in local buying power to support small businesses.

It is all fine and good to say that supporting the development of a small business-focused economic development plan will help to create sustainable and self-sufficient First Nation economies, but you still need the people who want to become self-employed and believe that there is a market for their products or services in the community.

Granted, becoming an entrepreneur is a huge leap of faith and heavily relies on an individual’s ability to motivate themselves and believe in their ideas; the prospect of leaving a good-paying and secure job can be scary and is a risk that many people just are not willing to take.  A person can talk to their friends about dreams of self-employment to which we can imagine the discussion would be loaded with reasons why it is crazy to quit a good and stable job to follow “silly” ideas of being self-employed.

If a person did decide to take a leap of faith and become one of the estimated 50, 000 self-employed Indigenous people in Canada, there are many organizations and resources out there that can help them move dreams and ideas to reality.

You could start by taking an entrepreneur course such as the one offered by the Martin Family Initiative or by searching the Internet for the millions of pages of resources related to starting a small business and becoming an entrepreneur. You could also meet with your local Economic Development Office to see what supports or services are available within your community.  Don’t forget that there are also other people who may have already started and are operating a small business in your community that could be a wealth of knowledge and support.

Once you’ve made the decision that you want to follow your dreams of being self-employed, you could contact one of the Aboriginal Business Development Institutions – such as the Waubetek Business Development Corporation, The Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund, Tecumseh Community Development Corporation, or the Two Rivers Community Development Centre – to get help with the development of a business plan and find out about financing options that may be available to you.

Once you have completed your business plan, identified sources of personal equity, and secured the other financial resources to support opening your small business, you can look to local business incubators or innovation centres that can assist you through the all-important first year of business. They can also put you in touch with others like you who are just starting out. This will help you with developing not only a support system to help your business thrive, but can also put you in contact with potential customers for your product or service.

We know it sounds daunting – leaving the comfort of employment to carve out a piece of the market for yourself – but it is a rewarding journey for you and your community. Economic diversification and sustainability depend on those of you with whom this resonates.  So, g’wanden (translation: go on then), self-employment is within your reach.