RBC Survey Finds Entrepreneurs And Aspiring Entrepreneurs Are Likely To Be Repeat Owners

Toronto, ON- According to a recent study conducted by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of RBC Financial Group, current entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs are likely to be repeat owners. Four in ten (41%) aspiring entrepreneurs in Canada have previously owned at least one other business and 31% of existing entrepreneurs have previously owned at least one other business (15% have owned one other business, 9% have owned two other businesses, and 6% have owned three or more businesses).

The study finds that repeat owners differ from others many respects...

Current Entrepreneurs

Repeat business owners are more likely than first-time owners to identify several main challenges when starting up their current businesses, including working long hours (mentioned by 39% of repeat owners versus 32% of first-time owners), dealing with the government (29% vs. 25%), taking vacation/time off (24% vs. 20%), dealing with banks (23% vs. 17%), keeping up on competition (21% vs. 17%), finding qualified employees (20% vs. 14%), and sourcing materials (17% vs. 14%).

Among repeat business owners, the most frequently mentioned benefit of owning their own business is being their own boss (71%), followed by liking the work they do (65%), flexible work hours (55%), income (44%), working fewer hours (21%) and taking more vacation (14%).

And, repeat business owners give similar reasons for starting their businesses: being their own boss (59%), liking the work they do (44%), income (42%), flexible work hours (38%), and working fewer hours (11%). The study also finds that, 52% of repeat entrepreneurs report a history of entrepreneurship in their family compared to 41% of first-time business owners.

Repeat entrepreneurs and first-time owners are also likely to market differently. Repeat entrepreneurs are more likely to promote their business through a website than first-time owners (29% vs. 24%, respectively) and they are also more likely to promote through marketing presentations (18% vs. 12%), and internet pop-ups (11% vs. 8%).

Half (49%) of repeat entrepreneurs have owned their current business for five years or longer; 46 percent expect to own their business for more than ten more years.

In terms of demographics, repeat owners are more likely to be older (47% are 55+ years old vs. 35% of first time owners) and more likely to be male (59% vs. 49%).

Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Among aspiring entrepreneurs, those who have previously owned a business are less likely than those who have not to anticipate several challenges when starting their business, including getting enough money to start the business (cited by 54% of those who have previously owned a business versus 62% of those who have not), working long hours (28% vs. 33%), dealing with tax laws (25% vs. 34%), keeping up on competition (13% vs. 22%), and time management to ensure time with family and friends (9% vs. 15%).

Findings also indicate that those who have previously owned a business are more likely to get their businesses up and running from home (76% plan to start from a home office versus 67% of aspiring entrepreneurs who haven't owned a business). They are also more likely to expect earning revenue within 6 months of starting the business (34% vs. 23%).

And when it comes to marketing their business, aspiring entrepreneurs who have not previously owned a business are more likely to plan on using paid advertising (52% versus 44% of those who previously owned a business) and direct mail campaigns (44% vs. 39%).

In terms of demographics, like current owners, aspiring entrepreneurs who have previously owned a business are more likely to be older (29% are 55+ years old vs. 13% of those who have not previously owned a business) and more likely to be male (60% vs. 53%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid/RBC Financial Group poll conducted from August 12th to August 16th, 2005. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1,661 aspiring entrepreneurs and 2,380 current entrepreneurs was interviewed online. With a sample of this size, the results for entrepreneurs are considered accurate to within 1772.0 percentage points while results for aspiring entrepreneurs are considered accurate to within 1772.4 percentage points , 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within sub-groupings of the survey population (the margin of error for repeat owners is +/-3.6% and +/-2.4% for first time owners; the margin of error for aspiring entrepreneurs who have previously owned a business is +/-3.8% and +/-3.1% for aspiring entrepreneurs who have not previously owned a business). For the purpose of this study, "entrepreneurs" are defined as those reporting they either currently own a business or are self-employed, and "aspiring entrepreneurs" are defined as those reporting they do not currently own a business/are not self-employed, and are either "very" or "somewhat" likely to start their own business in the next five years.

Please open the attached PDF to view the factum and detailed tables.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:
Ray Kong
Ipsos Reid
(416) 324-2106
[email protected]