Why small business owners should use their size as a secret weapon

If you're a small business owner, then your size is your secret weapon. In a marketplace where corporate giants dominate, small business agility, creativity, and connections set you apart and give you advantages big players can't copy.   

As Fahd Alatab, founder and CEO of Unicorn Labs, put it at CAA North & East Ontario’s recent launch of CAA Business: "Smallness is your advantage. You get to rewrite the rules."  

CAA Business Membership is a tool to support Canadian small businesses. “It’s about giving small businesses the kinds of benefits that have, until now, just been for large enterprises,” said Jeff Walker, President and CEO of CAA North & East Ontario.  

Winning by being different   

Keynote speaker Fahd Alatab opened the night with a personal story that many newcomers know by heart. His family arrived in Montreal in 1998, and with the help of his uncle's small optical business, they changed the trajectory of their lives.   

"Small businesses transform communities," he said. "It's the backbone of Canadian society." That early lesson – that a sole proprietor’s storefront can be a lifeline – shapes the way he coaches founders today.   

For him, that's where the power of small teams is evident, in the culture, clarity, and trust that turn limited resources into greater results.   

He then moved from story to strategy, reminding owners to lean into what small teams do best: "Authentic community, personal service, and speed, these are qualities big corporation struggles to match."   

Using case-by-case examples, Alatab pointed to small businesses such as Savannah Bananas, Well.ca, and Bridgehead, each of which has found success by rewriting the rules in its own way.   

In the end, it was a classic David versus Goliath message – small players can win when they stop playing the giant's rules.   

Actionable insights for entrepreneurs  

In his own organizational research, Alatab said he kept coming back to the question: Why do some groups thrive while others fall apart?  

He explained it with simple math. “Some teams add up to less than their parts – one plus one equals zero,” he told the room. He added that the best, “become more than the sum, one plus one equals three.”  

In other words, a small team leveraging trust and clarity can achieve more than a large team with confusion and a lack of direction.  

That belief carried into his advice for entrepreneurs. “Treat your people well, and they'll treat your customers even better,” Alatab said.   

Some ways to achieve this are by prioritizing people over profit, staying nimble and adaptable, grounding your business in strong values, and fostering genuine relationships with your customers.   

“For larger companies, customers are just data points,” he said. The difference can be attributed to your leadership and how you present yourself as a business. As Alatab put it in the story of his uncle's shop, "When you show up with heart, your customers show up for you."  

These lessons, he argued, can help smaller Canadian businesses not only survive but also thrive against established national players.   

How CAA Business can help your small business

CAA’s research reinforced that, as Walker described, small businesses are "workhorses of the Canadian economy," yet they are often underserved.   

The new CAA Business Membership aims to change that, levelling the playing field so owners can focus less on logistics and more on growth, connection, and community trust. Key features include commercial roadside assistance, Member-discounted business insurance, and access to group benefits through trusted partners, among other benefits.