‘Minding pennies’: High inflation is having big impact on one business owner, investment advisor | Globalnews.ca

Over the next six weeks, as part of the ‘Out of Pocket’ series, Global News will examine how inflation is affecting Canadians from coast to coast.

If Meghan Symonds has one piece of advice for fellow new entrepreneurs, it’s this: Startups “are not sexy.”

throw in the pestilence, inflation And the lack of global supply, and that makes everything that much more difficult.

“Nothing pops up overnight,” said the 30-year-old woman from Halifax. “It’s not sexy or glamorous in the beginning, but for me it’s worth it.”

His experience reflects the challenges people are facing across the country, and will be the focus of a global series on rising inflation called ‘Out of Pocket’.

For Simmonds, the payoff of starting her own startup has been being able to share her love for food and grow a business out of it.

He has a background in the service industry and later made a career change to become a Registered Investment Advisor. She has since added podcast host and small business owner to her resume.

He’s not really a great baker, so he decided to focus on charcuterie boards.

She officially opened her small business in early 2020 when she began making and selling her creations for small gatherings during the height of the pandemic. Halifax CharcuterieIn December of 2021.

“I love art and I’m not a Picasso by any means, but like mixing it together. It’s like bringing people together over a creative outlet, a play outlet and food, he said.

But starting a food-based small business during such uncertain financial times has been stressful.

Canadians have been dealing with record inflation over the past year.

annual rate of inflation Canada had 6.8 per cent in November, but the price of food from the grocery store rose 11.4 per cent in the month.

To make matters worse, the The cost of food is expected to continue to rise in 2023. A recent Canadian food prices report estimates that food prices will increase by an average of five to seven percent more.

Iglika Ivanova, senior economist at the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives in B.C., said the rising cost of staples means Canadians have nowhere to turn for inflation relief.

“With these massive increases in the cost of living and even greater increases in the cost of food and the cost of basic things like rent or transportation, people earning more modest incomes have been really squeezed, for lack of a better word, ” He said.

To illustrate that point, an Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News found that 27 percent of respondents said they had reduced spending on essentials like food or clothing to pay for other essential needs. The poll was conducted between December 14 and 16, 2022, and surveyed 1,004 Canadians aged 18 or older.

While she has been hesitant to do so, Symonds has raised her prices twice since starting her business.

The first increase was small, she said, but in May this year, she noticed that the price of some materials had skyrocketed. In particular, the price of cheese was fluctuating unpredictably.

Even though she was setting with a budget how much she was going to spend per order, she often “overspended” because she needed more materials.

“Even just the price of your regular, Cracker Barrel Black Diamond—they started making cheeses for less. Like 400 (gram) now it is 370, but the price has increased.

“It’s not on sale very often. And then even a lot of specialty cheeses like Port Derby or smoked cheddar have gone up in price. But at the same time they’re not bringing in as much of it.

Symonds found that not only were the prices of his vital products rising, but they were also becoming harder to find.

He found himself driving around town to source certain products, which also increased his costs due to rising gas prices. Even sourcing packaging for its products was becoming a headache.

“I struggled with myself whether to increase the price again or keep it the same or how to make adjustments. I did another price change in October… So the beginning of Q4 for the calendar year, ” He said.

He reported that he warned his customer base a month before the price increase, and went on to explain to them that “it’s not about profit.”

“It’s just what I’ve been able to offer you. It’s been tight,” she recalled.

During the holidays, Symonds said they did not see a drop in orders, despite the price increase. She attributes this to the fact that she had many corporate clients, who were ordering food for parties.

But she knows that the next few months, which are statistically slow in the retail industry, will tell a lot.

Ultimately, she wants to transition to her small business full-time — whenever the time is right.

“Saving personal funds has been a little harder than I would have liked,” he admitted, adding that his gross income is about $55,000.

“The amount of money I choose to put aside from paycheck to help grow my business is harder than I expected, but there are still grants and different things you can do for it. So I’m looking Am.

Meanwhile, Symonds’ main job is as an investment advisor with a major bank, which gives her a special perspective on how inflation has affected people.

She said it is clear that customers are concerned about finances. The Bank of Canada is raising its rate seven times in 2022, and some customers told Symonds they’ve seen their mortgage payments double.

“I always tell people, you want to look at your finances and do what’s best for you. It doesn’t matter what Suzy Jones is doing because you don’t know what their situation is. Your What matters most when it comes to budgeting is what you need to do and you don’t need to explain yourself to other people,” she said.

“Money is emotional, whether you have it or not. So with inflation the way it’s going, you want to make sure that if you don’t have a budget, you’re also going to set a budget.

Symonds said that when the term dreaded “inflation” started being thrown around, she initially thought she would be immune — given that her bills were mostly fixed and she was single.

“I don’t have a partner, I don’t have kids. It’s just me,” she remembered thinking.

“I’m not too worried. And sure enough, come April, I was like, ‘Oh, no, I’m getting hit with inflation.’ I guess I would be naive to think so. I’m sure those who have lived through inflation before (know) that no matter what your personal situation, you will be affected by it. And of course, I was.

She describes her situation as “worrying” because her business doesn’t have much wiggle room when it comes to funds. Any surplus or profits are immediately saved.

On a personal level, she is scrupulous about her personal spending and food costs, and is careful about waste and spoilage. Her apartment rent went up in June of 2021, but she considers herself lucky because the total amount is still manageable.

“So it’s about looking at my budget, having my alerts (on my banking app) open — like, you spent that much or you’re less than your desired balance — and then looking at that,” she said. .

“Just minding my pennies, so to speak, and keeping track of what I’m spending and making sure it makes sense. Meghan for the future not to be bothered with the past Meghan It should be a big deal.

And he has lots of plans for “future Meghan”.

Symonds was first inspired to take on the challenge of starting Halifax Charcuterie because she wanted to see herself represented in the wine and food business.

“There are not a lot of black people that I know in that industry or in the wine culture, the sommelier culture at large,” she said.

“So I said, ‘Well, I love it. I’m going to do it. I’m going to bring it to the communities around me, my community and the city at large.

Her next steps will be to incorporate sommelier training, and wine tasting and events into her business. Her hope is to maintain her business full-time.

“I would love to get into it full-time as soon as possible, but definitely taking my time so it makes sense.”

5:07
Restaurants Are Feeling the Strain of Inflation

previous video

next video