When it comes to thinking about starting your own business, millennials seem to be leading the way.
A recent Ipsos survey shows 67% of Canadians polled aged 18 to 24, and more than half of 25 to 34-year-olds (60%), have considered becoming an entrepreneur.
“[Young people] want to build their thing, they want less to work in somebody else’s structure than they want to build their own,” explains Charles Scott, a lecturer in the School of Business at the University of Northern BC.
“The second factor driving that is need. There is a lot of disruption caused by automation and robotics. The kind of opportunities I might’ve had when I was entering the workforce could be less available for somebody moving into the workforce today at 18 or 22 or what have you, simply because the structure is different. It’s different in ways that going off to get your own income is more of a necessity than when I was doing that in the mid-1980’s.”
When looking at the provincial numbers, British Columba is third when it comes to thinking about starting their own business with 55% of people saying they have. Alberta leads the way with 63% and Ontario is second with 57%. In total, 54% of Canadians admit to thinking about owning their own business.
This high number of potential entrepreneurs is only good moving forward, according to Scott.
“There are plenty of people that want a job that are going to discover they need their own business and they may not want to. Many entrepreneurs are reluctant ones, they didn’t plan to get into business but here they are not able to find what they were looking for in the form they hoped,” he explains.
“I think it bodes very well for societal health and, while it’s not the easiest path, it is the best one in my opinion.”
Scott adds Prince George is an ideal location to start a business because of how business-friendly the community is. He notes the regulations and costs, the ability to network, and the readily-available information as reasons PG would be more ideal than larger cities like Vancouver.
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