BSBR Research Project | Rationale | Objectives | Expected Outcomes | Research Team | References
Building Small Business Resilience (BSBR) Digital Marketing Prototype
Summary
Background & Need
Small businesses represent 98% of businesses in Canada but struggle with long-term survival, with only 68% lasting five years and 49% reaching ten years. Underrepresented groups, including women (15.6%), Indigenous people (1.4%), minorities (12.2%), and persons with disabilities (0.5%), face even greater challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic further impacted these businesses, with 38% reporting revenue losses of 50% or more and 14% considering closure.
Proposed Solution
The BSBR Digital Marketing Prototype supports small businesses in adapting to the digital economy through affordable, practical digital marketing education. In partnership with Sheridan’s EDGE Entrepreneurship Hub, the program will teach small business owners to run effective digital marketing campaigns on a $500 budget.
Program Structure & Delivery
Two Cohorts of underrepresented small business groups
Foundational learning via updated Sheridan courses
Simulated campaign testing before real-world application
Data-driven marketing optimization for resilience
Virtual Learning Hub with nationwide accessibility
Six mentorship sessions per participant
Collaboration with business support organizations
Curriculum Integration & Micro-Credential Certificate
The program enhances Sheridan’s digital marketing curriculum by integrating industry best practices and evolving trends. It includes five online courses across two terms, covering website setup, owned and earned media, paid media, and specialized strategies for eCommerce and non-eCommerce businesses.
Impact & Sustainability
Empowers small businesses with digital resilience
Hands-on learning with real-world application
Supports underrepresented groups with accessible education
Enhances Sheridan’s digital marketing offerings
Potential funding from Future Skills Canada
Self-sustaining model with market-based pricing if needed
Strategic partnerships to expand program reach
This initiative provides small business owners with essential digital marketing skills, ensuring adaptability and long-term success in an evolving business landscape.
BSBR Research Project (Completed)
If your think it’s hard work running your business, you are not alone. Even though small businesses are ruling the Canadian economic landscape (accounting for 98% of all businesses in Canada [1]), your survival rates are not promising; 68% after 5 years, 49% after 10 years [1]. Let’s that sink in. More than half of small businesses will not last more than 10 years!
The odds are stacked even more against those who are in the under-represented groups. The under-represented are businesses that are majority owned by women (accounting for 15.6% of all small and medium businesses), by Indigenous people (1.4%), by minorities (12.2%) and by persons with a disability (0.5%).[2]
As the COVID-19 pandemic plunged global economy into worst recession since World War II [3], under-represented businesses were amongst the hardest hit due to their existing financial fragility and poor economic health [4]. Also, their businesses were likely to be in the most affected industries including accommodation and food services, and retail sectors [5]. Top challenges were loss of customers and income, negative mental health impacts and increase in domestic work [4].
Canada’s post COVID economy does not offer any good news to the under-represented as the recovery is categorized as K-shaped, a starkly uneven division where some parts of economy are recovering well, and the others are sluggish or sinking [6]. The inequality happens along class, racial, geographic, or industry lines [7].
The research project, Building Small Business Resilience (BSBR) aims to address this issue by equipping under-represented small business owners with necessary skills to be adaptive and resilient in the face of any future disruption.
AI-Powered Digital Marketing: Enhancing Efficiency and Performance Research Project (Currently Recruiting Participants)
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