Career and Job Search Help Blog

By Ra

A growing number
of Canadians are starting their own businesses – currently, over two million Canadians are
self employed.  Although most small business owners agree it requires
extensive planning, determination and endless energy and passion, the self-employed and small business owners believe that the rewards are well worth it. In
a recent national survey conducted for the Canadian Federation of Independent
Business,
92% of small business owners were satisfied with their work compared to
82% of Canadians in general.

Did you know (From GoForth
Institute):

• Every
  year in Canada, an average of 130,000 new small businesses are created –
  but only 35% survive the first five years.
• Ninety-eight
  percent of Canadian businesses have fewer than 100 employees, 55% have
  fewer than four, and 75% of all businesses in the country have fewer than
  10.
• There
  are over 900,000 female entrepreneurs in Canada, making up a larger share
  of the self-employed than in any other country.
• Over
  40% of Canadians say that starting a company or being self-employed would
  be the most rewarding career path for them.
• The
  number of immigrants active in starting or running a company is some 60%
  higher compared to first- or second-generation Canadians.
• Small
  businesses account for between 60 and 80% of all jobs created in Canada.
• Almost
  60% of all small business owners in Canada consider themselves “lifestyle
  entrepreneurs” who use their business as a means of generating income to
  support other commitments or lifestyle choices.
• Canadian
  small and medium enterprises invest in Research and Development (R&D)
  proportionally on a greater scale than big corporations.
• On
  average, small businesses with fewer than 100 employees contribute about
  51% to Canada’s GDP.
• Studies
  show that entrepreneurs with education in entrepreneurship, or previous
  entrepreneurship experience, have an 80–90% chance of success 
with a new business.

Toronto Reference Library, Business, Science and
Technology Department
has been dedicating a lot of its resources, either in print or online, to small
business endeavours.

Find your competitors in online business directories such as:

Scott’s Business Directories Online

Mergent Online – all at your fingertips from the www.torontopubliclibrary.ca

Use Toronto Public Library's catalogue
or come in person to the 3^rd floor of Toronto Reference Library to ask for a specific
business directory.  We have
current ones in print.

Also:

Come to the 3^rd
floor for monthly gatherings of would-be and existing entrepreneurs in a
program called Small Business Network.
 Come interact, exchange experiences and
business cards with others similar to you. For schedules of the types of businesses covered in
this popular event, check for the upcoming session by typing Small Business Network in the search box on Toronto Public Library's home page.