– Colleen Evans is CEO of the Campbell River Chamber of Commerce. She can be reached at colleen.evans@campbellriverchamber.ca.
CAMPBELL RIVER – The Campbell River Chamber is committed to providing insights to our members that inform, engage and enable growth, productivity for a thriving local business climate.
One of the ways we do this is through sharing relevant, timely, local data that is gathered through surveys, like the economic forecast where survey results from 200 local business leaders was released at our sold out Economic Outlook Breakfast.
Despite some uncertainty about the economy, more than half of local business leaders in Campbell River expect their businesses to perform better financially in 2017 and about four in 10 businesses plan to hire additional employees. Looking ahead, half of respondents said they plan to grow and expand their business in the next five years, while one-third expect no significant change in their operations.
A number of business leaders plan to exit their businesses in the next five years, either by selling to a third party (9 per cent), transitioning the business to a family member (3 per cent), selling to employees (0.5 per cent) or simply closing the business (2 per cent).
Looking ahead, half of respondents said they plan to grow and expand their business in the next five years, while one-third expect no significant change in their operations. A number of business leaders plan to exit their businesses in the next five years, either by selling to a third party (9 per cent), transitioning the business to a family member (3 per cent), selling to employees (0.5 per cent) or simply closing the business (2 per cent).
Asked how the federal, provincial and local governments are doing at creating a good business climate, local government rated most positively. However, survey respondents said there is still room to improve, citing the need to cut bureaucracy (18 per cent), lower taxes (15 per cent) and attract new businesses and jobs to Campbell River (12 per cent) as the top recommendations for local government.
As follow up to the business leaders survey, the Chamber will be hosting industry sector roundtables on May 11th and October 17th. These roundtables will build on the survey results and create new opportunities to take local business growth to the next level. The full survey results are available on the Chamber’s website at www.campbellriverchamber.ca.
In recognition of one of our key industry sectors, forestry, please take a look at Campbell River’s sector video at the following link.
Thank you to our local business leaders panel; Dennis Cambrey of York Machine Shop; Lisa Whitmore of Signature Oil & Vinegar; George Lambert of T-Mar Industries Ltd. and Aaron Spetifore of Sealand Aviation who collectively shared why doing business in Campbell River is the right decision for their business and provided incredible updates on how their businesses are growing internationally and competitively.
This month continue to see strong business growth in Campbell River with Dodd’s Furniture celebrating their grand opening and at the other end of the business cycle, we wish happy retirement to long standing members, Ron and Lillian of RH Printing, celebrating their retirement and welcoming new owners.
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Upcoming events include a pre-election All Candidates Breakfast Forum on April 27th at the Community Centre and a survey inviting Campbell River businesses and organizations to share what’s on their minds for the upcoming provincial election.
