Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Small Business Week in Canada - Do we Need to Encourage Entrepreneurship?

It's "Small Business Week" in Canada, and there are many activities taking place to celebrate and encourage entrepreneurship. (Note #1)

 

If you're in business, or work with entrepreneurs, you'll likely be speaking with those who are wondering what’s involved in starting a business of their own. 


Do we need to encourage people to explore entrepreneurship? I think entrepreneurship is a part of an individual's career-path planning that shouldn't be ignored. More importantly, for those wanting to 'be their own boss', I think it's critical that they gain a solid perspective on what's ahead of them!



BTW - Let me quickly mention that in November I'll be facilitating a “Business START-UP Seminar Series” in St. Albert, Alberta. This is modelled on the very successful series I’ve done in Sherwood Park (Strathcona County) for the past 8 years. The St. Albert series is a collaborative effort that’s being supported by the City of St. Albert Economic Development, the St. Albert and District Chamber of Commerce, the Northern Alberta Business Incubator (NABI), ATB Financial and MNP LLP.  It's great to see the cooperation being provided by these community leaders and so many others!  If you know of someone who’s considering starting a business in St. Albert, more information and registration is available at: goo.gl/r2AJir

In a post seen on the website EconomicDevelopment.org Stephen Daze says, 
"It’s no surprise that global leaders are increasingly looking at entrepreneurship as a way to grow jobs and stimulate economies.  In Canada, approximately 68% of net new jobs are created by small and medium sized enterprises (Statistics Canada) and from 1980 to 2008 all net new job growth in the USA came from firms five years or younger (Kauffman)."

There's good reason for encouraging entrepreneurship. As we've seen in the recent past, many large firms and organizations are trimming their payroll numbers and it's new businesses that generate job growth.  Daze notes a Kauffman-funded study of youth aged 8-21 where 40% of respondents expressed interest in entrepreneurship as a career option.  He rightly asks: "What are we doing to stimulate interest in entrepreneurship and provide support to young entrepreneurs?" (Note #2)

So let me ask: "What (if anything) should we be doing to stimulate entrepreneurship, for anyone?"

ALSO In a post to the "Provision Exploring Mentorship BLOG" on this same day, we provided some important information related to encouraging the growth and development of entrepreneurs, and the role a Mentor can play in that process. Learn how to improve the quality and results you experience ... and gain some insights on developing your business plan as well!


What are your thoughts on this topic? 
Please feel free to add your comments below.
 
Note #1: See a short video clip from the Business Development Bank of Canada regarding Small Business Week by clicking HERE.


Note #2:   Source of the Stephen Daze quote noted above was from the website URL: http://economicdevelopment.org/2013/05/canadian-universities-receive-near-failing-grade-for-campus-entrepreneurship-support/