Just what I wanted to read. I compared it with U.S. data briefly just now and discovered:

You can’t compare U.S. and Canadian data.

Canada defines small businesses as under 100 employees, calling 100–500 employee businesses “medium,” and doesn’t have data put together for both small and medium-sized biz, while the U.S. simply calls everything 500 and under “small.” I knew that about the U.S. Small Business Association, but I didn’t know Canada would see it so differently. Go figure.

Hence no way to say how Canada and the U.S. compare. Ah, well.

According to U.S. stats, “small” businesses contribute just over 50% to our non-farm GDP, and constitute over 99% of business ventures. Neat facts, but a 499-employee firm ain’t small to most people, is it? (Some day VisionPoints will be small like that, hehe.)

I wandered all over the CABI site—that’s a very handy resource! I instantly bookmarked it. Thanks!

Later,

Kelly

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You may definitely do that, especially if you wear your purple boots…

Brett Legree’s last blog post…viking fridays – fate of norns.

At your pub, could I trade time warming your barstool for Guinness?

Just wondering…

It would be interesting if we could all agree to trade time rather than money.

Nobody’s making any more of it, we all (basically) have the same amount for it, so it seems a logical unit of commerce.

Does it matter if I do one hour’s work on your bookkeeping in exchange for you doing one hour’s work shoveling my driveway?

Especially if it would take you 6 hours to do your bookkeeping and me 2 hours to shovel my driveway? In the end, we’re both ahead, and we can go out for beers.

Off to build that commune/pub…

-Brett

Brett Legree’s last blog post…viking fridays – fate of norns.

That is a very cool factoid, if true. We have a huge small business community here in the U.S., but proportionally, I have no idea. I’m going to have to see if I can find out more on that.

Graham,

Ah, I used to love your dollar, ten, fifteen years ago. Or did I love ours? It made trips cheap, anyway. Now nobody’s money makes sense for two weeks straight. I can hardly wait until the air clears completely in the coal mine.

“Nothing says ‘Buy in Canada’ like ‘your dollar is worthless anywhere else.’” SO true. I don’t want isolationism, or trade problems, not at all, but I am all for local focus. We’ve become too isolated from the people and businesses right next next to us. A little community cocooning, business-wise, could be a fabulous new trend.

Until later,

Kelly

Yes, weak dollar. Back when it was in around $0.66 to the US dollar, I and other “exporters” were making $1,500 on $1,000 — not bad. On the other hand, nothing says “Buy in Canada” like “your dollar is worthless anywhere else”.

I used to want the dollar to go up, for pride if nothing else. But that 10 years or so that the dollar was so low is one of the best things that could have happened to us. Keeps money in the country, attracts other currencies to the country, and keeps prices low. We were literally the cheapest place in the Western world to buy books, CDs, and magazines thanks to low(er) printing costs and a low dollar.

Then the dollar went to $1.10 — and suddenly I was making $900 on $1,000. I didn’t like that…

Although we are still tied to the US economy, I think we are seeing the affects of those years right now. Lower debt usually means smoother sailing during rough times…

IMHO,

~Graham

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