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At the same time, 73 per cent of businesses project revenue growth in 2024, as 54 per cent say they are in better shape now than they were entering 2023. Despite the overall positivity, however, seven in ten small business owners are feeling some level of burnout, with 68 per cent of their employees sharing the same feelings. 

The way businesses were able to weather the storm, and “bob, weave, innovate and change their businesses to deal with the challenges that came with the pandemic,” impressed Kyle Davies, senior vice-president and head of syndicated research at Maru Reports.

“Many have had a successful 2023 despite the challenges, so they’re feeling optimistic about seeing similar levels of success this year,” he said. “So we’re slowly moving in the right direction.” 

Hilton Shapiro, a  in Cabbagetown, said business started returning to pre-pandemic levels last year, after months of supply and demand struggles. With customers looking to set up home offices, he said, they dealt with soaring furniture pricing as the store had a harder time accessing products and materials from suppliers.

“The price of furniture nearly doubled, if not more, from pre-pandemic for the same item, but we still had to sell them,” he said. “We would have to grab what’s available (from suppliers), rather than waiting until something better becomes available, because if you haven’t got the product then you can’t sell it.”

In returning to pre-pandemic levels, however, Parliament Furniture joins the majority of businesses in the report who say they are in better shape now than they were entering 2023.

Davies said it’s a result of businesses switching gears from “survival mode to growth mode,” a pattern that developed between the second and fourth quarters last year. 

“For a while, there’s been a high proportion of businesses that have told us their revenue has been growing, even through the pandemic, but we know that a big part of that is them increasing their prices.”

Raising prices is something Sharon Smyl, , found herself doing to ensure the creators of products being sold in her two store locations, one in Kingston Road Village, and the other in Mount Pleasant Village, don’t get short-handed.

Between moving her business online during the pandemic, to building community support after launching in 2014, not only is Smyl grateful to have comfortably maintained her business during a time when others struggled, but she managed to open a third location in 2023 in Bloor West.

Smyl says her business has remained profitable, despite increased overhead costs that come with running three store locations.

She also remains optimistic about Collected Joy’s future, adding that the extra responsibility has led her to be more “surgical” with business decisions. 

“I’m being much more mindful of where I’m buying things like my bags and my tissue, which I was less so before,” Smyl said. “I’m more aware of how much shipping costs are, so I’m consolidating orders smarter than I used to, and I’m also deciding where to best spend my time because my time is really valuable.”

Shapiro doesn’t consider himself to be as optimistic as Smyl, but rather more careful. With shipping costs lowering and supply becoming readily available once again, his goal is to maintain the business that has grown in the community for the last 30 years. 

“There’s lots of other factors as people are not shopping as frequently and are more cautious about spending,” he said. “Now (customers) can choose the style, design colour that they want in furniture, as opposed to just  choosing something because that’s the only thing that’s available right now. It’s just way more options once again, and it makes everyone happy.”