Month: March 2010

High-end restaurants should be the first to suffer in a recession but Ottawa is showing that isn’t always the case.

Many people clung to their jobs during the recession. Others chose to quit, braving an uncertain financial future to launch their own start-ups.

Ottawa has lots of brilliant people. They have brilliant ideas. Some of these ideas could sprout the next big technology company – the next Nortel or RIM. But venture capital has dried up in Ottawa. Who will finance these ideas? Who will trust our brilliant entrepreneurs? The answer: angel capital networks.

A weak dollar and over-abundance of beef on the market has meant for a tough recession recovery for Ontario’s cattle producers. It’s forced many to change the way they do business.

North America’s fashion industry was one of the first to suffer during the recession. But Ottawa’s fashion scene has remained unscathed and should continue to do well.

The economy continues to strike Ottawans with layoffs, spinning non-government supported industries into a predicament about their futures.

Local sports stores stay afloat in an unhealthy economy by offering service that chains can’t match.

Despite the recession hitting most Ottawa businesses, the golf industry seemed to be thriving. The biggest problem in 2009 for both private and public courses was not the economic downturn, but the weather. Heading into 2010, courses in Ottawa feel that as long as the weather is clear, their financial picture will do the same.

With the recession technically over, some small Ottawa businesses are doing pretty well thanks to a little neighbourly love.

Ottawa’s Little Italy community was hit hard in the past year due to ongoing construction on Preston Street, not to mention the economic recession. Now that the street has re-opened, business owners are thrilled to see a rise in traffic.