KAWARTHA LAKES – Seven in 10 small business owners have taken on debt due to COVID-19 but many of the local businesses in the Kawartha Lakes have pushed through and managed to find continuing success through innovation and community support.
According to Chad Broad, Store Manager of Home Hardware Lindsay, 207, Kent St., West, the store has done well through the pandemic. During the recent lockdown, the store served many customers with curbside pickup and with the recent reopening, the store is busy and doing well.
“Considering how other businesses are in town, we did fine, there was a lot of running around to do, you’re a personal shopper basically,” he laughed.
Broad noted that none of his staff were laid off during the shutdown as they needed all employees onboard as the phones were constantly ringing for orders.
“Hardware and grocery stores are resistant to stuff like this, people need certain items to survive,” he said. “Since we reopened, it’s been going very good, people are glad we are open again, there still are some people that aren’t 100 per cent sure about going out to shop, but we still offer curbside and online orders.”
Broad noted that curbside pickup and his team of staff has enabled the store to find success through a difficult time.
“Without curbside it would have been tough, not being a big store, it’s easy for us to manage. We managed to help people within an hour of when they had an item ordered,” he said. “Thank gosh for my employees, that they hung around, I have such amazing staff.”
For Fenelon Falls, the wide range of businesses have managed to support one another through the pandemic while a few new businesses have even made a grand entrance into the small town during the pandemic.
According to Marylee Boston, Fenelon Falls and District Chamber of Commerce Manager, while shopping traffic in the downtown core may be slow, which is always expected during the winter months, the small business owners have been creative in offering shopping options and have pulled through the recent lockdown.
“I have to say, when I was downtown yesterday, I saw a few people with shopping bags in hand, which is always exciting no matter what time of year, I think it’s slow, but businesses have adapted and created new things,” she said. “We have such a broad scope of members, some are swamped. Restaurants and personal services like hair, they literally couldn’t be open, it’s such a broad spectrum and it’s really hard. I personally hope with the vaccine and once summer comes we can have a really good summer and everyone can get a boost mentally, financially and emotionally.”
And considering the circumstances, Boston noted how exciting it has been to welcome three new businesses to town in the last six months, including the Kawartha Artisan Market, Treasures By The Locks and Fenelon collectables.
“It’s so interesting, I’m so proud of our local business owners, people are not letting Covid stop them from going ahead with their dreams, there is a lot of exciting things happening in Fenelon falls in spite of Covid.”
According to a new report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, CFIB, seven in 10 small business owners have taken on debt due to COVID-19, with the average now reaching almost $170,000 per business. In total, small businesses in Canada now owe a collective $135 billion.
“Over the last six months, the average debt taken on by small businesses to deal with COVID-19 has grown significantly,” said Laura Jones, Executive Vice-President at CFIB. “While many businesses had previously reopened and were attempting to regain lost sales, the second wave and the restrictions that came with it are putting a massive wrench in an already slow recovery for small businesses.”
But even though those numbers are staggering, Kawartha Lake business owners and entrepreneurs continue to rally together, pushing forward to continue their success while serving their residents.
For the Bobcaygeon community the town also welcomed three new businesses, Trease, Kawartha Delivers and Che Figata.
According to Denise Benning-Reid, Manager Bobcaygeon and Area Chamber of Commerce, local cottages, resorts and other accommodations are already almost fully booked for this summer.
And even though the tourism industry in Bobcaygeon had a late start last summer, business owners caught up and had a great season, she added.
“They were able to catch up last year, solid bookings and it’s looking really promising this summer, I mean everything is uncertain, they seem to be hanging in there,” she said. “This community has a ton of community spirit and everybody really supports each other, which helps a lot through these crazy uncertain times.”
She also noted that the biggest challenge for many local businesses is staying on top of the ever-changing protocols.
“It’s so hard with the extra expenses to put protocols in place, there is a lot of grants but not everybody qualifies, that takes a lot of time to navigate as well,” she said.
But, according to Benning-Reid, the local businesses have found a way to persevere by supporting one another and being creative in how they can reach the public with their services or products.
“It’s a pretty special community, everyone works hard to support each other, everyone is looking forward to the tourism season to open up, hopefully, we have beautiful weather and welcome the world back to Bobcaygeon, safely for sure,” she said.
Small businesses located in the Lindsay downtown core also continue to prevail and according to Melissa McFarland, BIA Lindsay, Executive Director, the pandemic has not forced any local business owners to close their doors, but it hasn’t been an easy road as store traffic has also decreased as the downtown reconstruction continues.
“We have had a bit of a double whammy, we have the downtown reconstruction and even though lockdown ended, a large portion of the downtown is under full construction, so it just adds an extra layer of challenges,” she explained. “I think they’re doing okay, they’re doing their best, a lot are operating on shortened hours but looking ahead to spring.”
McFarland noted that while no businesses have closed due to Covid, many of them have expressed concerns if another lockdown is to take place. Any storefronts that are available for rent have also remained empty, she said.
“The issue now is we aren’t filling empty spaces, our vacancy rate is up a little bit, understandably,” she added. “Some feeling is, they might not survive a third (lockdown), we need spring and summer to be back to get us up to almost normal, we haven’t seen impact on actual business closures, but I believe we might if there is another, I hope not but I know things would be more difficult if it continues any longer.”
McFarland added that the BIA has been advocating for the small business owners and fighting to enable them to remain open like the big box stores.
“There is no data that shows keeping small businesses open is adding a negative impact, it’s been frustrating, it’s not fair shutting them down and leaving the big ones open,” she said.
McFarland noted that essential businesses shouldn’t be able to sell non-essential items if the small, privately owned businesses are forced to close. The burden to keep numbers and cases down has so unfairly been put onto small business owners, she said.
“A lot of small businesses were willing to be reasonable, maybe a small retail shop, if they said one person at a time or by appointment, we would have been willing, it’s better than having the door completely locked, but you can go to Giant Tiger but walk around there with 100 other people, but they couldn’t have one person in the store,” said McFarland.
During the second lockdown, local stores in the downtown core managed to stay afloat with curbside pickup sales and online orders. According to McFarland, store owners were often working in their stores, answering phone calls and emails, ensuring they could provide to their customers.
“I think it’s a huge testament to small business owners and their tenacity, they have taken a really difficult situation and made the best of it,” she said. “It taught them how to provide to people, how to be creative and to try new things, the perseverance they have shown is absolutely amazing.”
