#COVID19 small business stories: Here is a selection of stories from CFIB members on the economic impacts of the pandemic.
We are a dog boarding facility & spring break is our busiest time other than summer as clients are travelling on longer trips. We were completely full and w a waiting list 2 weeks ago. As travel has been shut down, we've had almost 75% of our bookings cancel.
We use this surplus cash flow to help sustain us through more sluggish months until summer hits. We are cutting staff hours & may lay off some of them, but our overhead costs will still remain and could cripple our business.
We've suffered cancellations of over $270,000 worth of business. This has created significant uncertainty and stress for employees and as the situation continues to evolve we expect further cancellations. Depending on the magnitude of cancellations, the business is at risk.
We run trade shows & the restriction of gatherings of over 250 has an April event in jeopardy. We have vendors and attendees who have bought tickets who want a full refund. Since many expenses are already paid by this time this could cause our company to go bankrupt.
We are a small retail business and winter is already a slow time for us. COVID-19 has hit us hard as people are not out shopping. Given lost sales, lay offs will probably happen this week.
We are a dental office and we have had to temporarily lay off all employees but two. We are seeing emergency patients only at this time.
My gym has had an immediate reduction of membership sales & indefinite suspensions. Costs for cleaning/supplies have tripled. If we have to shut down temporarily, our financial losses for 1-2 months will be 120K+. We are terrified this will cause us to file for bankruptcy.
We are a Travel Agency with about 60% of our business related to cruises. With the closure of countries, and Canada's announcement today (March 13), this could effectively put any travel agency under.
We are a small family owned restaurant. People are being cautious and are not going out to eat as much. We have lost approx 60% of sales and are struggling to hang on.
Three weeks ago, my retail store was in full expansion. Our sales, which average between $500-$1,000 a week, have dropped to one tenth of that.
We are a 74 year old business - one of the oldest restaurants in Montreal. Our business caters largely to an ageing population. If our sales decrease any more I will have to cut most of my staff, which have been loyal to me for 30-50 years. I am so sad.
My Daycare will close for 2 weeks and we must reimburse the parents and pay the employees. It will cost me at least $40,000. And that’s just for 2 weeks!
I hire foreign workers from Mexico. I am worried that they won’t be able to enter Quebec to help plant the crops. Without foreign workers, there will be no agricultural products.
China supplies most of our products. There have been massive stock outages since Chinese New Year followed by the virus. Add to that the rail blockades in Canada & we are pretty much dead in the water. I can’t be sure of the future viability of my biz. This is a perfect storm.
