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Pattie Lovett-Reid

Chief Financial Commentator, CTV

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Dreaming of starting your business? You aren’t alone.

While Canada’s job figures for September are set to be released on Friday, it’s worth noting that the labour force survey has been a mixed bag lately. In August, the economy generated 26,200 net new jobs, but the unemployment rate crept up to 7 per cent as more people started looking for work. But what if you didn’t want to work for someone else and put your own shingle up?

Given the number of layoffs by companies struggling with the economic impact of a slower economy, it isn't surprising that the majority of Canadians now believe small business ownership is less risky than working for someone else.

According to a poll by the Royal Bank of Canada:

  • 79 per cent of respondents said they believe working for themselves is less risky than working someone else because they can control their own future
  • 60 per cent said they have thought of taking the plunge into entrepreneurship
  • 92 per cent said they would start a business to have control over their careers
  • 92 per cent said want to be their own boss

Business owners in the survey said that the following factors were important in helping them leap into entrepreneurship: 

  • Opportunity: 64 per cent of respondents said they started a business because the opportunity presented itself
  • Financing: Only 17 per cent of the entrepreneurs surveyed said they waited until they had saved up all the cash they needed
  • Passion: 41 per cent of respondents said they always had a goal of starting a business and 34 per cent said they started one because they needed a job or income

The RBC poll also suggests that some regions in Canada are more entrepreneurial than others. Alberta is the most entrepreneurial province with 75 per cent of respondents saying they had thought of starting their own business, followed by Atlantic Canada and B.C. at about 67 per cent, Manitoba and Saskatchewan at 64 per cent, Ontario at 62 per cent, and Quebec at 43 per cent. Sixty per cent of the balance of Canadians said they wanted to start their own business. 

As the Chief Financial Commentator for CTV News, Pattie Lovett-Reid gives viewers an informed opinion of the Canadian financial climate. Follow her on Twitter @PattieCTV