The Rise of Small Businesses: How Millennials and Gen Z Canadians Are Leading the Charge

A recent RBC Small Business survey shows that 74% of Canadian small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs are driven to start a small business or side hustle due to the rising cost of living. This number jumps to 84% among Gen Z respondents. Most (77%) of current and aspiring entrepreneurs say their main goal is to create a source of income to support themselves, with 86% of millennials citing this as their primary reason for starting a business.

“This year’s survey highlighted that the desire for entrepreneurship in Canada remains strong, especially among younger generations, driven by today’s tough economic conditions,” says Don Ludlow, Vice-President of Small Business, Partnerships & Strategy at RBC. “Many Canadians are motivated to start micro-businesses—very small-scale businesses or side hustles—to quickly meet new consumer needs and take control of their financial future in these uncertain times.”

Key Factors Supporting the Rise of Micro-Entrepreneurship

Several factors are fueling the trend toward micro-entrepreneurship. New technologies and digital solutions are making it easier for Canadians to start small businesses. Current and aspiring entrepreneurs reported that:

– Emerging technologies allow them to reach new markets and explore new ways of doing business (47%)

– Conducting their business or side hustle online lowers the overhead costs of starting and running a business (47%)

– Digital solutions reduce the efforts for administration and back-office tasks (42%)

Additionally, a shift in customer preferences is benefiting small and micro-businesses. Canadians increasingly seek authentic, localized, and customized goods and services, and they believe small businesses are best suited to meet these needs.

Eighty-six percent of those surveyed agree that small businesses can provide products and services tailored to local needs, and 73% believe small businesses can innovate faster than larger organizations. Moreover, 71% were more likely to support businesses with an active presence in their local community.

For current and aspiring business owners, the increasing preference for and willingness to shop local has fueled their desire to become entrepreneurs. Thirty-nine percent of those surveyed said this shift has motivated them and made it easier to start a business.

Helping Entrepreneurs Start, Manage, and Grow Their Business

RBC has made it easier for Canadian entrepreneurs to start, manage, and grow their businesses by offering valuable solutions that save time and money. These solutions include:

– Ownr: A digital platform that simplifies and automates business formation and everyday legal and administrative work. Ownr has lowered the price of their Sole Proprietorship registration fee to $49 (including government filing fees), making it one of the most affordable ways to register your business. New entrepreneurs can receive up to $100 back when they register using Ownr and then open any RBC Business Account.

– Moneris Online: An integrated bundle of e-Commerce, online payment, and shipping solutions to help entrepreneurs quickly build and manage their online business.

– Kobalt.io: A leading cybersecurity services provider that helps small and mid-sized businesses access cybersecurity expertise and solutions. RBC clients receive preferred pricing for Kobalt.io services.

– Sherweb: A leader in cloud solutions and the latest partner to join RBC’s Go Digital™ program. Sherweb offers RBC business clients exclusive advice and solutions to support their adoption of cloud-based innovations and technologies.

Entrepreneurs can access these solutions and business advice online through the RBC Start A Business Hub at www.rbc.com/startingabusiness.

About the Survey

The RBC Small Business Poll was conducted by Ipsos Canada from August 12-15, 2022. A total of 1,501 surveys were completed online by Canadian adults (18+), represented in six regions (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan/Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada). The results are weighted to reflect the Canadian population. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ±3 percentage points if all Canadian adults had been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population represented. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to, coverage error and measurement error.

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