A Calgary Journal insight explores small business confidence, how an NDP government and a possible increase in minimum wage will affect the economy and how small business owners can thrive in uncertain times.

Despite the uncertainty of oil prices and the state of Alberta’s economy, Calgary’s small businesses are optimistic. For them, the downturn can be an opportunity to re-focus and increase efficiency in their operations.They are open for change from the new provincial government as long as it provides stability and fairness while experts agree to disagree on the effects of the NDP’s proposed wage policies.
Those were the thoughts expressed by many of the 180 business owners who attended “Rev: Sustain. Accelerate. Thrive”, an event organized by the Calgary Chamber on Tuesday at the Hotel Alma on the campus of the University of Calgary.
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It’s encouraging to read that Calgary’s small businesses see the downturn as a chance to refocus and boost efficiency rather than just hunker down. The 180 owners at the Calgary Chamber’s “Rev: Sustain. Accelerate. Thrive” event clearly aren’t waiting for certainty before adapting. That same spirit of creative adaptation is what makes tools like gesture synth, a free browser-based instrument played with hand gestures via webcam, such a fun example of doing more with less.
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