Small Business Week is here! Dan Kelly, President & CEO of Canadian Federation of Independent Business — Canada’s association for small and medium-sized companies — will join us next week at Momentum 2024. In anticipation of these two events, we spoke to him about key trends in the small business sector that financial institutions should prioritize to effectively support the growth of small businesses.
Dan serves as the lead spokesperson and advocate for the views of CFIB’s 97,000 members and manages the organization’s 400 staff across the country. He started his CFIB career in 1994 in Winnipeg, and after more senior roles in Calgary and Ottawa, he became President in 2012, based in Toronto. While in Ottawa, Dan focused on the need for major changes in the payments industry and drafted the first version of Canada’s Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry.
You’re participating in a fireside chat at Momentum 2024 to discuss small business growth. Why is participating Momentum important and what are you most looking forward to?
I’m really excited to join Momentum 2024 as it is such a critical time for Canadian small businesses. Small firms have been put through the wringer over the past few years with the severe pandemic business restrictions followed by rapidly rising costs, high interest rates and declining disposable consumer spending.
With a bit of light at the end of the tunnel, Canada needs to get back to a growth agenda and small firms can play a big part in that. Those that support SME growth – such as credit unions – are critical to making this happen too.
Credit unions have a strong track record in serving small business customers. What advice do you have for maintaining this competitive edge?
Small firms are big fans of credit unions. CFIB’s regular banking surveys rate the banks and show that credit unions are usually at or near the top. But there is opportunity for improvement with every financial institution. Some credit unions struggle to keep their small business clients as they grow into medium-sized firms. I don’t think credit unions need to accept this as inevitable. Looking for ways for credit unions to help small firms reach their potential would be time well spent.
Small Business Week is here. What trends in the small business sector should Central 1 clients keep top of mind when it comes to supporting small businesses in their growth through financial services?
There are a ton of changes happening in the small business community right now. On the worrisome side, many small business owners are in the process of exiting their firms. Some are leaving due to the damage they’ve seen over the pandemic and others for natural succession reasons. But what worries me the most is that over half of small business owners would not recommend others to start a business at this time.
On the flip side, a growing number of younger Canadians are attracted to business ownership or self-employment as an alternative to paid employment. This is good news. There has also been a ton of consolidation in many sectors that traditionally have large numbers of small firms. There are many cross currents that need to be considered by credit unions and others that support SMEs.
What role do you see (digital) technology playing in supporting small businesses, particularly in relation to faster payment solutions?
I’m really excited by the potential for faster payments in Canada. Many small firms remain big users of paper invoices and business cheques as a means of paying each other — particularly for larger invoices. There are a bunch of reasons for this, but Canada would benefit from a faster, secure and low-cost way of moving money between businesses beyond the options currently available. It always surprises me how many businesses are affected financially every time we have a postal strike as their money is tied up in the mail. This shouldn’t be the case in 2024.
