Small businesses in Sask. struggling as not many were able to pay back their CEBA loans

Small businesses across Saskatchewan are struggling, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB).

The CFIB reports that only half of Saskatchewan’s independent businesses were able to pay back their Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loans.

“We had 20 percent pay by refinancing with their bank, so they took out a loan to pay off their loan, and some of them are facing viciously-high interest rates of 8, 9, 10 per cent, and the rest didn’t mean the deadline,” said Brianna Solberg, CFIB provincial affairs director.

Janis Procyk, owner of Brick + Mortar, announced the closure of the clothing and gift boutique as of Feb. 26. She decided to close her shop in January.

“We are still alive because of those loans, and we had the opportunity to fight. It’s just so many things changed after the fact and normal didn’t return,” said Procyk. “That’s what happened, it’s just got more and more stressful, and sales kept dipping lower and lower. We never had the chance to recuperate and pay it back.”

However, other small local businesses like Rooted Living Designs were able to stay afloat even when they opened during the pandemic in 2019. Owner Tyler Polowy said although they were part-time, they had to create a strategy where they could open to only a few people at a time.

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“They ended up getting time slots throughout our store,” said Polowy. “So, you can book a separate time slot to come visit us.”

Since then, Polowy said they had to ensure they were stagnant with their hours when they first opened full-time which he said paid off in the long run.

“As long as the bills are paid in my books. I just like to do something that I enjoy. I’m not doing this to have a get rich quick scheme,” said Polowy. “I’m doing this because I enjoy it …  that’s kind of how we build our business is through our community.”

Navigating his success throughout the pandemic, Polowy says keeping up with the trends had helped him in the long run.

“That’s the hugest thing. Number two is our social media game,” he said. “That’s how everybody navigates in 2024. Whether it be TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, you have to make sure that you’re posting daily. You have to make sure that you’re posting your new products when they come in.”

Polowy says as business continues to boom for him, his heart goes out to those struggling, as the Regina small business community is tight knit.

“There’s hardships every day, as you can see with a lot of the businesses that are closing this past week, or even month, or even year,” he said. “There’s been another five of them this past week that have announced that they’re closing. So, with those successes, it’s a pat on your own back, but you take light of the hardships as well to businesses.”