These new tariffs will impact many Canadian businesses. Some are saying they may not make it, caught in the crossfire of a battle they had nothing to do with. But are they?
We've known the possibility of something like this eventually happening was there since at least last spring. If your plan was to ride it out until the midterms or a new administration, that's not a strategy. It's hope. Carney told you what to do months ago - "Nostalgia is not a strategy".
I've talked about client-concentration risk. One client makes up too much of your revenue and it's a huge risk that you have to have a strategy for. The extension of that is what's happening right now. What if you rely too much on one industry? A demographic? Geographic region? or .. Country? There are benefits to focus, but there are risks too.
If you do business in the US directly, whether it be vendors you use or customers you sell to, and you haven't been doing everything you can over the last 18 months to diversify and reduce your reliance on them, then you have failed your business and everyone in it.
Harsh right? "What am I supposed to do, stop selling to them? It's not that easy you know". I know it's not, and of course you shouldn't. But you should have worked hard to dilute it, open up other markets, find new vendors. As an entrepreneur and the leader of your business it is your responsibility to look out for the future of your business.
If you haven't, now is the time. TODAY is the time. What percentage of your revenue is from, or depends on, the US? From a single industry? A single region? Where does each need to be to make it a manageable loss? You should be able to figure those numbers out in a day, and now you have the gaps you need to close.