Canada, a country well-known for its multiculturalism and excellence in hockey, is also a land of opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs. Despite today's business world where it consists of mostly American and Asian companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Acer and HTC, Canadian corporations like Research In Motion (RIM), Boston Pizza and Loblaw's are continuously competing strongly with other business giants.
Canadian businesses have seized opportunities in five changing conditions such as demographic, social, economic, regulatory and technological changes. You can read more about these changes on the Industry Canada's site.
Additionally, the performance for Canadian companies has been above adequate and improving incrementally. According to Industry Canada, the rate for upcoming companies has increased from 9% in 2001 to 12% in 2006. Simultaneously, over half (51% to be exact) of these companies last minimal five years while a majority (85%) survives at least one year.
In contrast with other countries, Canadian firms are also favourable in terms of its survival rate and start-up rate. For instance, one-year survival rate for Canadian service the firms in 2005 was 85% as opposed to the United States at (78%). In fact, the one-year survival for Canadian service firms in 2005 was also higher than Spain, Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Hungary and Netherlands. These statistics indicate the well-being of various Canadian firms and increase the optimism and confidence of new entrepreneurs and companies. Moreover, by comparing Canada with other countries, Canada does seem to be outperforming foreign firms.
By understanding the possibility of starting and sustaining a small firm, young entrepreneurs can imagine the potential for success in the domestic industry. Interestingly, this success is highly related to higher education. According to Statistics Canada, roughly one third (35%) of Canadian entrepreneurs (self-employed individuals) in 2007 have a post-secondary diploma and 28% has a university degree. Conversely, 3% has not attended high school and 8% has not completed high school. These numbers suggest that individuals with higher education are more likely to start their own businesses. According to Industry Canada:
"...people with more education tend to be better able to recognize and pursue opportunities. As a result, they tend to start more businesses and their businesses tend to perform better."
For those who dream to become an entrepreneur one day, props to you for attending SFU and receiving the necessary education that you may need for future endeavours. Post-secondary education provides students with the knowledge as well as career-related experiences and networks through programs like the Co-operative Education program , which will be essential to a good career, regardless of whether we choose to become entrepreneurs or not.
