COVID-19 and the Small Business in Toronto

Well, there are upsides and downsides to everything but I'm feeling the downside of sole proprietorship now and it hurts bad. Sure I'm not the only one that's going through this (thank you Covid-19) but that doesn't make it any less painful.

My husband has been urging me to find a 9-5 job since the day we met. So it shouldn't come as a surprise to be getting the "I told you so looks" when this Covid-19 pandemic hit our world as we knew it and I was out of a job in a matter of hours. Chiropractors in Toronto are falling victim to this just like a lot of other small businesses.

Sole Proprietorship in Toronto

His take on my life has always been that I don't have one, or at least that I'm missing out on the opportunity to have one because my business is my life. Though I've tried to defend my position, if I'm honest with myself, I really can't argue. He makes a legitimate point since he's been the first-hand witness to me doing something work-related before or after actual work/office hours 7 days a week for 15 years. He says I have no off-switch...if I'm not at work my mind is. Again, I can't argue that and believe it or not I've been busier since closing shop!

Since Covid-19 hit, I've not only been busy posting door signs, canceling patients and advising staff of indefinite office closure but on top of it all, like other small business owners, I've been trying to make sense of the newest government initiatives. So there's emergency relief, mortgage deferral, child care supplement, work-sharing...so much to consider but how can you make a decision when you have no idea of when this might end or if you'll still have a business by the time it does!

Though I am appreciative of this assistance, I did spend the better part of a week trying to read up on requirements for each new initiative proposed by the Canadian government while also fighting tooth & nail to get an actual Service Canada associate on the phone to order paper records of employment for Ritacco Chiropractic employees. I had to succumb to the paper version, as I have been unsuccessful in registering for online Record of Employment access. Not sure if everyone was having this problem or maybe my toddler saying mommy look every 5 minutes side-lined me, but I was eventually able to complete the application with the exception of the final screen which required that I go to a Service Canada office to show 2 pieces of picture ID😩. This request (or error message as it's better described) might have been doable even a couple of short weeks ago but during this Covid-19 pandemic...ummmmm ya not gonna happen! Is Service Canada even open?? Ugh

Sorry if I am complaining but where else can I find sympathy other than fellow small business owners? Do any of you feel my pain? Have you come across similar challenges? I keep reassuring myself that it will all get done and sorted out and that I won't end up on the street. To be honest, it's more of an attempt to delude my hyper-anxious state of shock and to prevent spiraling into clinical depression. I just want to be certain that my employees, my family and my patients (who are for all intents and purposes my family) are taken care of. Speaking of patients, what is worse than Covid-19 itself was having to turn people away who are in pain. It' a tough decision because you want to help and you are still offering phone or video consults but we all know that this can't replace a hands-on treatment. At the same time, you also don't want to be responsible for their illness should they become part of the pandemic perpetuation. Sure you can take every precaution with sanitization, masks, gloves, but you also take the risk of having patients become exposed on their way to or from their treatment. By that same token, you would like to lessen the burden of ER docs who are already overwhelmed with Covid-19 to address acute musculoskeletal pain or injury. It's certainly an unprecedented time! What the future holds no one knows, but we can only do our part & keep our distance to ensure that we have one!