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Small Business Briefing

Small business forecast: a mix of sun and clouds

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Katherine Scarrow

This article was published more than 9 years ago. Some information in it may no longer be current.

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The latest news and information for entrepreneurs from across the web universe, brought to you by the Report on Small Business team. Follow us on Twitter @GlobeSmallBiz

Confidence among Canadian small and mid-sized business owners dipped slightly in June. CFIB's Business Barometer® index fell to 66.3, down 0.6 points since May.

The decline in the index can be attributed to insufficient domestic demand. And while concerns about energy costs have eased among SMEs, they remain the most common cost concern.

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Provincially, business owners in the West and in Newfoundland and Labrador are generally more upbeat about their prospects for the year ahead compared to those in Central Canada and the Maritimes, but the differences narrowed slightly in June compared to the previous month.

The decline in confidence was broadly based across industries, with 11 of 13 categories lower than in May, suggesting the shift in mood is pervasive and not localized to any single sector or region. The most optimistic business owners are in financial services, wholesale trade and personal services. Those in business services and manufacturing are also slightly more positive than the norm, while the hospitality and agriculture sectors continue to be the least optimistic.

Read the full report here.

Small business advice from the big screen

From sticking to your values to maintaining a work-life balance, Inc.com offers seven lessons business owners can learn from these classic Hollywood gems.

Window washers try kilts on for size

You may have heard of Men in Tights, but what about Men in Kilts? In this Q&A from Entrepreneur, the CEO of the Vancouver-based window-cleaning franchise talks about the company's recent expansion to the U.S. and what the kilt-wearing workers do when it's cold outside.

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EDITOR'S PICKS FROM REPORT ON SMALL BUSINESS

In this month's edition of Talking to Entrepreneurs , Tony Oliver discusses his decision to buy a PropertyGuys.com franchise, how to sell your house without an agent and the pros and cons of owning a franchise.

From the ROSB archives

Nature vs. nurture

Can entrepreneurship be taught? Yes, according to Babson College researchers, who found overwhelming evidence that taking two or more core entrepreneurship elective courses positively influences the intention to become an entrepreneur and becoming an actual entrepreneur both at the time of graduation and long afterward. These findings make programs like The Next 36, which aims to nurture the country's next corporate dynamos by combining academic training with practical projects, especially timely and relevant. Globe columnist Boyd Erman takes a looks at the ground-breaking venture.

Got a tip on news, events or other timely information related to the small-business community? E-mail us at yourbusiness@globeandmail.com

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Join The Globe's Small Business LinkedIn group to network with other entrepreneurs and to discuss topical issues: http://linkd.in/jWWdzT

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