The typical Canadian entrepreneur is a Generation X woman who has work-life balance figured out.
This according to the 2015 Sage State of the Startup Survey, sponsored by business software vendor Sage North America. According to the survey, some 62 per cent of Canadian startups are founded by women. Most were launched by a single founder within the last month, most have no prior start-up experience, and more than 57 per cent of them were members of generation X.
“The Canadian economy survives on small businesses — when they thrive, so do we,” said Nancy Harris, senior vice-president and general manager of Sage Canada, in a statement. “To help entrepreneurs grow and succeed, Sage wanted to dive deeply into how small business startups work, what makes the very best succeed, and best practices that will guide other new businesses on their journeys. (And) women entrepreneurs are one of the fastest growing segments in the Canadian economy.”
Balancing work and home life is a priority for both genders, with 46 per cent of entrepreneurs saying they have a great balance between work and life and 27 per cent saying they take more vacation time than they did when they were working for someone else. Women are more likely to have achieved that balance though, at 51 per cent, versus 37 per cent of men.
In a statistic that will give business professors a chill, 52 per cent said they didn’t have a formal business plan and 68 per cent had no outside investors. Still, 73 per cent are turning a profit. Their most common challenges include managing cash flow, getting accurate financials and building a product or service.
Entrepreneurship may not be in the genes for Canadians, with 75 per cent saying their parents were not entrepreneurs. Some 59 per cent of respondents started their own business because they wanted to be their own boss, while 46 per cent wanted to turn their passion into a business and 38 per cent had a burning desire to work for themselves.
