One-third of Canadians want to be their own boss

One-third of Canadians who don' t own a business like the idea of being their own boss and one-fifth are thinking about starting up their own business within the next five years, according to the Canadian Consumer Outlook issued by Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) issued on Wednesday.

"Considering 12 percent of Canadians are currently self-employed, seeing another 20 percent interested in being their own boss is indeed significant," said Mike Michell, RBC national director of Small Business.

He said that "getting a business started can be challenging: you have to have passion for what you're doing, seek out good advice and be prepared with a well-developed business plan." When it comes to starting a business, the top two challenges identified by those who don't own a business are getting enough money to start or expand (28 percent) and finding clients (14 percent).

However, existing business owners say different. According to the latest RBC Small Business Survey, 66 percent of business owners said finding enough clients was a key challenge. Only 15 percent felt that a key challenge was getting enough money to start or expand their business.

The experience of existing business owners also contradicts the perception of 40 percent of Canadians who think it would take up to three years for a new business to start making money. In fact, 41 percent of business owners from RBC's small business survey said that it took less than a year for their business to break even or make enough money to cover costs." It appears most Canadians have a fairly realistic view of what it takes to be an entrepreneur, although there are a few misconceptions," said Michell.

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