Skip to main content
OLC logo

OLC Editor

SFU Staff
All Faculties
Co-operative Education

Entrepreneurship banner
By understanding the possibility of starting and sustaining a small firm, young entrepreneurs can imagine the potential for success in the domestic industry.

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.

Author

OLC logo

OLC Editor

SFU Staff
All Faculties
Co-operative Education

The OLC Lead Editor manages content submissions, provides feedback on content submissions and assists with the development of content with contributors.

visibility  39
Jul 7, 2011

You Might Like These... Prospective, Professional Development, Career Exploration

Co-op students jumping in the air
The Co-op Connection Helps Retention

In this blog post, Heather shares with us why co-op is an important experience for all students, whether it be to further career aspirations or to gain future employment opportunities. 

author, courtney, smiling
A Second Term in Government: More of the Same?

Having completed my first work term for Health Canada as a Communications Officer Intern, I was eager to try something new, and the government was not where I believed that was going to happen. That is until I was offered a position at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada...

Working on campus
The 10 Minute Commute – Resources and Useful Information for Working on Campus

Have you ever thought about working in a place that you are familiar with?  Perhaps a Tim Horton’s close by? For many students the idea of working at SFU might be a great option, if you prefer a 10 minute jaunt to work after class or an opportunity to learn more about how a university operates.

You Might Like These... Co-op Reflections

graphic of different job positions at work
Things That Went Wrong for Us

Sometimes, things don't go as well as expected when launching a start-up business. David explains in Part Three of his blog series just what went wrong and what fellow peers should look out for if you're also interested in developing a business.

glass and plate shattering from being dropped
Make Excellent Mistakes

What is your fear? Is it fear of… Heights? Taking risks? Making mistakes? Something else? Answers will vary but one of Yat's biggest fears is making mistakes. However, despite this fear of mistakes, throughout several Co-op work terms over the last couple of years, he has had his share of experiences making them. Read more to learn about Yat's mistakes, and how to learn from yours. 

Icons of Facebook
Application Review

Ever wondered what it would be like to be interviewed by Facebook?  Bradley Sutherland, a recent graduate from SFU’s Interactive Arts and Technology and a specialist in interactive design, was selected to be interviewed by the social media giant.  Bradley shared this 3 part interview experience with the OLC.