78% of businesses in the Central Okanagan say their business is strong.
That’s according to the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission, which surveyed 221 businesses last month during its annual Small Business Walk.
Director, Corie Griffiths says the walk provides a “pulse” on the business community.
“Most cite that business is either steady or growing and that continues to pose well for our economic climate in the region,” she says.
As for challenges, 40% of businesses said they had difficulty with staff recruitment and filling positions, from entry level to highly skilled.
Griffiths says another challenge facing businesses is the lack of succession planning.
“More than 10% of the businesses that were visited did cite an exit or close in the next 5 years, with less than half even having a succession plan or true valuation of their business.”
Flooding and wildfires also presented a challenge for this year, with some businesses reporting a decrease in local and visitor traffic because of those two events.
“There were specific comments related to geographic locations, for instance businesses in the District of Peachland and downtown Kelowna area reported the greatest impact from flooding,” said Griffits “And Peachland specifically, businesses there, reported a greater impact from wildlife smoke during the summer months.”
This is the 6th year the Commission has run a Small Business Walk.