New Survey Findings: Millennials Twice As Likely To Start A Business In The Next Year

TORONTO, Oct. 9, 2013 /CNW/ - Millennials may not be the entitled "me" generation after all. A new survey from intuit Canada shows that they embody a bold new entrepreneurial spirit that is remaking the Canadian economy.

The survey, conducted by Angus Reid Public Opinion, found that Millennials - defined as those born between 1980 and 1995 - are twice as likely as the Canadian average to want to start a business in the next 12 months.

• Eight per cent of Canadians say they want to start a business within the next year, whereas sixteen per cent of Millennials say they want to start a business.

"It's far too common to dismiss Millennials as an entitled "me" generation, and to dismiss their approach to the workplace," said Jeff Cates, managing director of Intuit Canada. "At Intuit, we think differently. We believe that there is a tremendous opportunity to foster the entrepreneurial spirit of Millennials by giving them the tools they need to succeed."

One likely explanation for the rise of entrepreneurialism among Millennials is sheer necessity. The youth unemployment rate is 14.1 per cent, double the Canadian average of 7.1 per cent, the biggest gap since Statistics Canada started tracking this statistic in 1976.

Key Survey Findings

An additional survey conducted by Angus Reid Public Opinion on behalf of Intuit dug deeper on the motivations and challenges of 400+ aspiring Millennial entrepreneurs. Here are some key findings about aspiring Millennial entrepreneurs:

• They are nearly five times more likely to be motivated by the opportunity to chart their own course (78%) than they are by money or status (16%).
  
  
• They are not naive about the realities of managing a business - they ranked a poor understanding of business finances as the top reason entrepreneurs don't succeed.
  
  
• They are roughly three times more likely to point to financial risk (61%) than they are to point to personal (17%) or career risk (22%).

"At Intuit, we believe that financial literacy skills are central to ensuring that Millennial entrepreneurs succeed, said Cates. "We feel so passionately about this that we are announcing that we will be giving our new QuickBooks Online software free for one year to every new Canadian startup."

Focus on Financial Management

Research from Dr. Sean Wise at Ted Rogers School of Business Management at Ryerson University in partnership with CYBF, provides evidence of the fact that financial literacy is a fundamental determinant of long-term success for business owners.

"Our research shows that financial literacy has a direct impact on new venture success, a higher financial literacy leads to more financial reporting which leads an increased measure of success," said Dr. Sean Wise, Associate Professor in the Entrepreneurship & Strategy department at, Ted Rogers School of Business Management, Ryerson University.  "By providing nascent entrepreneurs with financial literacy tools, CYBF and Intuit are increasing those founders' probability of success."

The Financial Bridge Builders Program

Intuit Canada and the Canadian Youth Business Foundation have teamed up to create the new Financial Bridge Builder Program, which will gives a select group of new Canadian business owners the financial tools and resources they need to succeed over the long-term.

Key elements of the Financial Bridge Builder Program include one-on-one coaching with an Intuit Pro Advisor Accountant, and a one-year free subscription to QuickBooks Online Plus.

"We're so pleased to be partnering with Intuit to give entrepreneurially-minded young Canadians the tools they need to increase their financial literacy and create and sustain successful businesses for the long-term," said Julia Deans. "Together, we are encouraging young people to view financial management as an essential component of an entrepreneur's skill-set that enables them to not only monitor, but shape the health of their business."

To see more about program participants, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj8AifYHcP4

Other Findings From The Intuit Millennial Survey

Here are some additional key findings about aspiring Millennial entrepreneurs:

• Almost half (48 per cent) would run a business from their home. Other business locations for Millennials include:
• Primarily online (28%)
• Store front (19%)
• Other (5%)
• They are nearly twice as likely to finance their business using personal savings than by borrowing money from a bank:
• Personal savings (68%)
• Borrow money from a bank (38%)
• Borrow money from friends/family (18%)
• Borrow money from another third-party (7%)

For more information, including a report and infographic, please visit: blog.intuit.ca

About the Angus Reid Survey

From August 28th to 29th 2013, Angus Reid surveyed 1,000 Canadians about how likely they were to want to create a business in the next year. From September 6^th to 10^th 2013, Angus Reid surveyed 464 aspiring Millennial entrepreneurs, defined as those born between 1980 and 1995.

All respondents recruited from the Angus Reid Forum, Canada's leading national on-line panel.

About Intuit Canada

Intuit Canada creates business and financial management solutions that simplify the business of life for small businesses, consumers and accounting professionals. Flagship products and services include QuickBooks, TurboTax and Mint.com.

About the Canadian Youth Business Foundation

The Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to growing our nation's economy one young entrepreneur at a time. We look at character, not collateral, when providing youth aged 18-39 with pre-launch coaching, business resources, start-up financing and mentoring to help them launch and sustain a successful entrepreneurial business. CYBF has been recognized as a global leader in advancing youth entrepreneurship, is a founding member of the global G20 Young Entrepreneurs' Alliance (G20 YEA), the Canadian member of the Prince's Youth Business International, and the Canadian Host of Global Entrepreneurship Week (November 18-24, 2013).

Established in 1996, CYBF has invested in more than 5,600 young and emerging entrepreneurs across Canada, whose businesses have created over 23,000 new jobs, $163.6 million in tax revenue and hundreds of millions of dollars in sales and export revenue. CYBF delivers its program coast-to-coast through a national network of 186 community partners and more than 4,550 volunteers including business mentors. Information about CYBF is available at www.cybf.ca

About Ted Rogers School of Management

Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University is Canada's pre-eminent entrepreneurial-focused business school that is shaping the country's next generation of global innovators and leaders. The school's focus on academic rigor, combined with real world, relevant curriculum, provides students with experiential learning and critical thinking skills needed to solve the challenges facing today's fast-changing economy.  Ted Rogers School of Management is home to six schools of management, three innovative graduate programs, including two MBA programs and 12 cutting-edge research centres and institutes. Ted Rogers School of Management is AACSB accredited, and has nearly 10,000 students and 200 faculty and staff from around the world. Its' students, faculty and alumni are connected with business and community leaders to fuel Toronto and the world's economic growth, prosperity and creative talent. For more information, visit www.ryerson.ca/tedrogersschool.ca  

About Angus Reid Public Opinion

Angus Reid Public Opinion - the public affairs practice of Vision Critical - is a North American full-service polling and market research firm which is a leader in the use of the Internet and rich media technology to collect high-quality, in-depth insights for a wide array of clients. Dr. Angus Reid and the Angus Reid Public Opinion team are pioneers in online research methodologies, and have been conducting online surveys since 1995. With offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, London, Paris and Sydney, its team of specialists provide solutions across every type and sector of research.

SOURCE Intuit Canada Limited