Apr 3, 2025
Despite the constant talk of tariffs, recession and inflation, many Canadian entrepreneurs are doubling down in investments and sales on their attempt to break big.
A new survey from small business management platform Ownr reveals how 86% of Canadian entrepreneurs financed their business using non-revenue related sources such as personal income and savings, funds from another business they run, as well as loans from financial institutions, the government and family and friends.
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"It's a precarious time for many small business owners in Canada given the evolving macroeconomic environment. Despite this, they are unwavering in their entrepreneurial pursuits by diversifying funding streams to fuel their business growth," Jordan Casey, Ownr CEO, said in a statement.
"In fact, our survey found that nearly three quarters of entrepreneurs would be happy to launch their business all over again if given the chance."
Just over half reported having two or three sources of income, including full-time jobs, part-time jobs and other personal investments.
Working to attract the customer
More than half of surveyed entrepreneurs said additional funding from non-revenue related sources enabled them to move forward with their business growth and expansion plans.
To achieve that growth, the survey revealed an increased focus on customer attraction and retention, driven by a need to differentiate among discretionary spenders. Nearly half of respondents were more likely to explore new products, services and markets (43%) and strengthen existing customer relationships (41%), versus raising prices (35%).
Among their investments, just over a third stated that marketing and sales services generated the most value for their business in 2024. Looking ahead, they want to increase their investment in marketing and sales, including efforts to upskill in this area.
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Going it alone
Almost half of Ownr's survey respondents were solely responsible for the ownership and operation of their businesses. Given their limited time and resources, these respondents felt an outsized gap in their ability to develop a long-term plan and navigate the changing market trends impacting their business, as their capacity was focused on day-to-day operations and staying afloat in the short-term.
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That manifests in many ways, including a planning gap. Many solo entrepreneurs stated they had never created a formal business plan (38%), compared to 26% of all entrepreneurs surveyed.
Furthermore, just under four in ten solo entrepreneurs felt confident in their knowledge of the impact of interest rates and macroeconomic trends on their business, compared to half of everyone surveyed.
"Reinforcing the benefit of a business plan, nearly 70% of all entrepreneurs we surveyed who had a business plan were optimistic about their growth in the current economic climate, compared to 48% without a business plan,” Casey said.
Survey methodology
The survey was conducted by RBCx and distributed by Cint and Ownr between Jan. 22 to Feb. 11, captures the responses of 1,004 current or future (within the next year) business owners based in Canada over the age of 18.
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Nicholas completed his master's in journalism and communications at Western University. Since then, he's worked as a reporter at the Financial Post, Healthing.ca, Sustainable Biz Canada and more. Aside from reporting, he also has experience in web production, social media management, photography and video production. His work can also be found in the Toronto Star, Yahoo Finance Canada, Electric Autonomy Canada and Exclaim among others.
Managing Money • Mar 06
