Over the past day I have had the chance to listen to several economists about the effects of the flood on the economy in Alberta and across Canada. It got me thinking how much has this impacted my business and other small businesses. Now understand that the total “damage” that I sustained was a little water in the front entrance and that was it. But the losses from the effects of the flood has had a real impact on my business and many other businesses that were not directly effected by the flow of water. I did up a quick calculation of what it has/ will cost me in lost shoots, lost teaching, courses and workshops as well as lost printing work coming in from my clients that have had to cancel their shoots and the number is scary. Now some of these cancelled jobs may come back in the late summer or fall but as of today that income is gone. This is all just from the effects of the flood and not having to deal with the actual water. Try to imagine what it would be like to be one of the thousands that are dealing with the flooding and the effects and it is hard to fathom all the losses. I know that many of the larger businesses will be able to weather the flood by dipping into some of their reserves, but what about small businesses? One small business I heard of today lost all their product, their equipment is ruined and the building is severely damaged, they have no idea when they can reopen the doors. Another business has lost income for five days and they still have not been able to see what their business looks like, and they have no idea what is lost and may not know till later this week or next. I know that there are some businesses that are going to see a huge increase (disaster restoration, building contractors, appliance sales, furniture sales, etc.) but during this time of clean-up lets keep in mind the businesses that are not seeing any benefit or even any income. If you know of a small business in your area that is reopening stop in and spend some cash. Take a minute to imagine what it would be like to be in their shoes. If you have some business that can wait a day or two for one of your suppliers to reopen, please do that. In today’s economy it is easy to switch to another supplier but lets try and keep the money where it is needed here at home and support local businesses in southern Alberta.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Jun 2013 20:29:27 +0000
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