- TD Canada Trust Small Business Survey reveals the top challenges and
    rewards experienced by small business owners -

    TORONTO, Oct. 16 /CNW/ - Making payroll. Suppliers' bills. Rising fuel
costs. According to the TD Canada Trust Small Business Survey, these are the
top concerns faced by Atlantic Canada's small business owners.
    The first TD Canada Trust Small Business Survey polled 1,000 small
business owners from across Canada to uncover their biggest challenges in
order to help provide relevant advice for entrepreneurs. The survey found that
27% of Atlantic Canada's respondents lose sleep worrying about cash flow while
25% say rising fuel costs is their biggest concern.
    "We encourage small business owners to meet with their local Small
Business Advisor for strategies on managing cash flow so that they can sleep
better at night," says Tim Houck, Regional Sales Manager, TD Canada Trust.
"Small Business Week, October 19th to 25th, is the perfect opportunity to
visit a TD branch and learn more about business financing and how to start -
and grow -a small business."
    Despite concerns about cash flow, 2008 is proving to be a good year for
small business owners. Forty per cent of Atlantic Canada's small business
owners graded their business' performance as an A or A+, indicating that they
have had solid growth or their best year yet. Forty-three per cent gave their
business a B, indicating that they did what they expected to do. Sixteen per
cent gave their business a C saying that they did not have the year they
planned and only 2% gave themselves a failing grade.
    Small business owners that gave their business an A or A+, said that what
made 2008 such a great year was innovating with the right products and
services at the right time (41%). This was followed by focusing on what they
are good at and outsourcing the rest (27%).
    Looking ahead to 2009, Atlantic Canada's small business owners anticipate
that the biggest business challenges will be similar to what they worry about
now: managing growth (27%) followed by rising fuel costs (20%). Cash flow was
the third most common challenge cited (18%).

    Owning your own business has its benefits

    The best thing about owning a business, according to Atlantic Canada's
small business owners, is controlling their own destiny (32%) and having a
better work-life balance (29%). Only 9% of respondents said that making more
money is the best thing about owning their own business.

    Advice from Atlantic Canada small business owners

    The top piece of advice from small business owners for those wanting to
start their own business is to diversify their services more. Twenty-seven per
cent of owners said they would have diversified their services more if they
started their business today. The second change they would have made was to
raise more capital before starting (20%). Small business owners from across
the country who have been in business less than a year are most likely to say
that they should have raised more capital (41%), whereas business owners who
have been in business 11 or more years, say that they would diversify services
more (22%).

    Small business and the environment

    The environment is a top priority for Atlantic Canada's small business
owners. In fact, 75% report that it is important to run an environmentally
responsible business. The biggest barriers to adopting more environmentally
friendly measures are cost (55%) and lack of information (17%).

    Small business and technology

    The TD Canada Trust Small Business Survey also asked Atlantic Canada's
business owners about their views on technology. Forty-six per cent of owners
say that e-mail is often a more effective communication tool than using the
phone. Eleven per cent of respondents are so dependent on technology that they
would rather have a root canal than give up their BlackBerry.

    About TD's sponsorship of Small Business Week

    Small Business Week is a nation-wide celebration of entrepreneurship,
October 19th to 25th, 2008, organized by the Business Development Bank of
Canada (BDC) to pay tribute to Canadian small business. With the endorsement
of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, organized events such as conferences,
trade fairs and seminars provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs to network
and exchange ideas to enhance business growth. TD is a sponsor of Small
Business Week and to recognize its small business customers, TD is conducting
a national advertising campaign, sponsoring SOHO (small office home office)
conferences in Toronto and Vancouver and sponsoring regional events with
chambers of commerce and business associations across the country. To see
events that TD is sponsoring, visit
http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/celebrate/index.jsp?id=2. As well, TD will host
in-branch customer appreciation days at more than 280 branches staffed by a
small business advisor.

    About the TD Canada Trust Small Business Survey

    The TD Canada Trust Small Business Survey polled small business owners
from across the country to uncover their biggest challenges and to help
provide advice for entrepreneurs interested in starting a business. The survey
was conducted by Angus Reid Strategies from September 4 to 8, 2008 with
English and French speaking small business owners (defined as business owners
with fewer than 20 employees) across Canada using the Angus Reid Forum. The
sample size included 1003 men and women. The random sample of 1003 small
business owners across Canada yielded 56 in Atlantic Canada.

    About TD Bank Financial Group

    The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as
TD Bank Financial Group. TD Bank Financial Group is the seventh largest bank
in North America by branches and serves approximately 17 million customers in
four key businesses operating in a number of locations in key financial
centres around the globe: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, including
TD Canada Trust; Wealth Management, including TD Waterhouse and an investment
in TD Ameritrade; U.S. Personal and Commercial Banking through TD Banknorth
and Commerce Bank (to be known together as TD Bank); and Wholesale Banking,
including TD Securities. TD Bank Financial Group also ranks among the world's
leading on-line financial services firms, with more than 5.5 million on-line
customers. TD Bank Financial Group had CDN$509 billion in assets as of
July 31, 2008. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the Toronto and New York
Stock Exchanges under the symbol "TD", as well as on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

For further information: Carolyn Abbass, Karen McCullough, Paradigm
Public Relations, (416) 203-2223, cabbass@paradigmpr.ca,
kmccullough@paradigmpr.ca