Dreamer 2 Creator Business Magazine
Editor’s note
AAccording to the Business Development Bank of Canada ( BDC), small businesses consist of less than 100 employees and make up 98.2% of all Canadian companies. Micro- entrepreneurs are a subset of small companies and make up 55% of the 1.1 million small businesses in Canada.
These numbers are registered businesses and do not include the many unregistered hustlers.
The numbers are available, but the systems are not in our favour. In fact, when I use the term microentrepreneur, many are not aware that they are considered micro- enterprise because they have 0- 4 employees.
Everyone considers themselves small businesses and is technically correct, but another element creates problems for us. The government lump all small businesses in the same category. What is wrong with this picture? Imagine a small business owner who hires over 50 employees; their revenue must be pretty large to cover payroll and profit. You have 1 or 0 hires, just yourself, your income is substantially smaller. The programs the government creates are often based on revenue and salaries and are therefore geared towards small businesses, not micro- firms; hence microentrepreneurs tend to not qualify for government funding, even though they need it the most.
Some micro- entrepreneurs compete with the big names and do it well. They recognize who they are and position themselves accordingly. They do not limit themselves and are more strategic in their thinking. There is much educating to be done around who we are as micro- entrepreneurs for us to compete effectively. This magazine is intended to start educating, and in this issue, we have decided to celebrate micro- entrepreneurs and encourage you to do so with all the small businesses around you. Your hairdresser, your hotdog vendor, your baker, your event planner, and so much more are all microentrepreneurs.
Stay Motivated!