In this special edition of How’s Business?, we ask local shop proprietors for their observations on the state of small-business ownership in Toronto this year.
Throughout the past year, How’s Business? has had the opportunity to take a peek inside businesses catering to everyone from motorcycle enthusiasts on Ossington to tween girls in The Junction. We asked these past particpants to share some of their thoughts about running a small business in Toronto over the past year and, from the answers we received, a few key themes emerged that may very well be instructive to anyone looking to start something of their own in 2013.
Lessons learned
“I have learned that I just cannot control everything that affects my business, no matter how hard I try. Sidewalks get ripped up, gas lines get changed, windows get broken—what can you do? I go to work with a smile on my face and hope for the best.”—Joel Dart, Jacob & Sebastian
“I’ve learned that every neighbourhood is colourful and unique and not always what you’d expect. There are a lot of diverse groups that co-exist in each community and it’s that diversity that keeps it interesting. To be a part of something new isn’t always going to be embraced by the old in any given neighbourhood and vice-versa. I’ve always thought that neighbourhoods are at their best when they can maintain that diversity.”—Chanel Croker, Day and Night
“We’ve learned a lot about what does and doesn’t sell, which has helped us refine our stock a lot. We’ve made some surprising discoveries about who our customers are, and how much the reality differs from what we expected. We were anticipating guys like us coming in, but our largest group of customers are people in their 20s who want good books.”—Peter Sellers, Sellers & Newell Second-Hand Books
“I have learned how important it is to nurture the sense of community, and support fellow business owners. If you’re not here to participate, get outta the way!”—Cody Deane, The Chief Salvage Co.
“We’ve learned that people, like sales, are unpredictable. And we think this is going to be increasingly true in the future. In other words, you can’t rely on your previous year’s sales history, because customers’ behaviour is changing so fast.”—Caroline Phely, Canon Blanc
The virtue of patience
“Patience is necessary, as is accepting that the days that aren’t so good will eventually be offset by days that are quite good, usually for no discernible reason.”—Peter Sellers, Sellers & Newell Second-Hand Books
“People shop in strange waves, so it’s very easy to get discouraged by a drop in sales, which can be followed by an unexpected surge. Sales are largely unpredictable and that can be scary.”—Kate Elia, The Beau & Bauble
“There is so much we want to do that we haven’t had time for yet. Starting a business is a very busy and exciting time—one thing that you learn is that all of your big plans don’t happen right away. We are looking forward to doing more creative work as a team in the coming year, bringing our daily practice as hair-stylists into more abstract and creative platforms.”—Chanel Croker, Day and Night
“I plan to take at least two days a week off for sure. I think it’s important for small business owners to step back to avoid becoming resentful and obsessed. Except if it is your first year—then you should be there every day, hangover and all.”—Lindsay Fernlund, Symbolist
Support your local retail scene
“Shopping at big American box stores is bad for everybody except the Americans who own those stores.”—Peter Sellers, Sellers & Newell Second-Hand Books
“All small-business owners do their best to bring unique and innovative products to the market, and I think Torontonians should be more open and experimental with their choices.”—Camelia Nicoara, Art. 27
“Having had the privilege of working with a number of great local producers, we have an even better understanding of how fortunate we are to have such amazing quality produce and artisan products right here in Ontario. Eating locally used to be the only option and now we are so globalized that we often forget about the fresh delicious bounty sometimes literally in our own backyard.”—Julian Katz, Stasis Local Foods
“There is a lot of support for the independent in this city. People make an effort to check out the up-and-coming areas and will promote a store they connect with. Bikes on Wheels is a great example—their t-shirts are everywhere! Like any city, it is competitive in that there are so many places for people to spend their money. We try to be better than what is expected, and put a lot of effort into making people feel comfortable in what can sometimes be a traditionally intimidating world. I think people who live in Toronto can appreciate that, as this city can easily feel cold when you are trying something new.”—Marika Thoms, Town Moto
“People love to browse interesting stores and boutiques as a pastime, but don’t realize that if they don’t put their money where their mouth is, those very interesting chocolate boxes that dot the neighbourhood will disappear altogether. The chain, the box store, and the mall will become their only options. It’s a very scary but very probable future.”—Kate Elia, The Beau & Bauble
“Many local independent record labels are putting out important material that needs to be shared and distributed to like-minded music fans. I’m talking about labels like Pleasence Records, Ugly Pop, and Totally Disconnected. Typically, the people involved are not remunerated with financial rewards for their efforts. Most of them do it out of love. They aspire to simply sustain their work, and, in doing so, they’ve set a high bar.”—Ian Cheung, June Records
Location, location, location
“Being in Roncesvalles has been a great climate, as it is a great neighbourhood for food—people in the neighbourhood care a lot about what they eat and where it comes from.”—Julian Katz, Stasis Local Foods
“The [Ossington] neighborhood has been a crucial part of our success. At first, people were just glad we weren’t another bar, but now I think people are happy to see business owners who actually live in the area and participate in its development in a positive way. With so many new businesses coming in, it has also been very motivational to witness other like-minded people’s hard work turn into success. Most people in the neighbourhood are very hands-on in trying to create an environment that has substance and a product that has a lot of care involved. This makes you, in turn, want to work harder at what you’re doing just to keep up.”—Marika Thoms, Town Moto
“Having a vintage shop at Queen and Ossington is probably a reward for something I did in a past life. People come here for vintage and cool independent shops. I’m also lucky to be surrounded by good friends like Penny Arcade, and Chosen Vintage, who are like a built-in support system. We all end up sending people to each other’s shops, and this really does make a difference.”—Jessica Shvili, Silver Falls Vintage
“Little Italy has been good to us. It brings a clientele that’s a bit more sophisticated than the more touristy parts of town. It allows us to go deeper into the spectrum of music genres: jazz, world music, roots music, experimental stuff, noise and avant garde, to name a few. This is satisfying because we can avoid the more vapid ‘trend of the week’-type releases that are more for the trend-seekers than the music lovers. We also have some culturally rich retail neighbours, like Sellers & Newel, Soundscapes, and She Said Boom, which offer books and music that support the same interests. This makes College Street more appealing as an area for people who are into what we offer.”—Ian Cheung, June Records
“’I’ve learned to accept all the change that goes on around my business instead of complaining about it. Condos? Fine. Starbucks? Okay. But the small businesses sprinkled in between need to hang in there and keep a little piece of it real.”—Lindsay Fernlund, Symbolist
