“The central element of a vibrant economy may be described in a short sentence: a business owner hires a worker.”
These are the words Daniel Henninger wrote in a recent Wall Street Journal column (August 30th 2012). He went on to write:
“From the corporate heights to the small storefront shops a man or woman sits down with another man or woman and out of this conversation comes a grand event: You’re hired! From that a nation flourishes.”
With Small Business Week approaching this got me thinking. If every Canadian small business owner hired one additional person ….there wouldn’t be enough people to hire! Because, according to the 2011 Industry Canada Small Business Statistics report, there are over 1 MILLION small businesses in Canada that have employees. This number does not include the solepreneurs, of which there must be millions more.
Here are some more impressive numbers from the same report:
- 98% of businesses in Canada are small businesses
- Small businesses contribute 30% of the Canadian GDP
- Nearly 50% of Canada’s total workforce work for small businesses
- 70% of small businesses survive for 5 years and more (not the usual touted figure of less than 50%!)
- 86% of Canadian exporters are small businesses
So, all you Small Business Owners, hold your heads up high. We contribute hugely to our country. That is why small businesses are powerful!
