View Single Post
  #49  
Old Posted Apr 14, 2007, 1:10 PM
Donovanf's Avatar
Donovanf Donovanf is offline
Creative Accountant
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Winnipeg
Posts: 816
Entrepreneurs at heart, Manitobans reveal in poll
Many believe businesses make valuable contribution

Sat Apr 14 2007

By Martin Cash
MANITOBANS are more interested in starting their own business, taking risks in creating more prosperity and being more innovative than people in Ontario or the United States, according to the results of a new survey.

More than 1,100 people completed a website survey set up by the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce in an effort to gauge Manitobans' views and attitudes about the future prosperity of the province.

Chamber officials were caught off guard by the number of people who completed the survey who said they want to start their own business, and the number who believe businesses make an important contribution to the prosperity of the province.

"There are an awful lot of people out there who want to start their own business and support entrepreneurialism in the province," said the chambers' president, Graham Starmer.

The survey is part of the chambers' campaign to generate ideas about how to energize the provincial economy and raise awareness about economic dynamics, called Making Manitoba a 'Have' Province.

"People are more willing to embrace innovation and risk-taking than we might have thought," Starmer said.
Click here to find out more!
Although there is no statistically valid margin of error in the survey, the results paint a picture of Manitobans being predisposed to value entrepreneurialism. They hold entrepreneurs and small business owners in higher regard than doctors and university professors. More than 30 per cent of respondents said they were very interested in starting their own business.

Bill Smith, executive director of the Manitoba Research Institute, a think-tank recently created by the Manitoba chambers, said there are some important messages in the survey.

"It seems to tell us that people are saying that the days of asking what government can do for business are over," Smith said. "I think people are saying that there is a role for business people to take some leadership. It's not just about asking government to lower taxes."

David Guberman, owner of Telexperts, a Winnipeg telecommunications equipment company, said he thinks Winnipeggers do hold entrepreneurs in high regard.

"This is a small town and business people have to earn every penny they make," he said. "Most business people I know have fairly up-beat attitudes because we have to earn every penny we make and we can't afford to burn bridges."

Shelley Werner is the co-owner of Smart Furniture For Business inc. a five-year-old business furniture company. She has been self-employed for close to 20 years.

"I think many people in Winnipeg actually know someone who owns their own business," she said. "In this community, unlike in larger cities like Toronto for instance, there is a sense that owning your own business is something that is accessible to just about anyone. You look all around and there are all sorts of homegrown businesses."

Starmer said the strength of the results mean the chamber will work hard at figuring out ways to unlock that pent-up demand.
"There is a lot of enthusiasm out there," he said. "We have to figure out what is inhibiting people from starting new businesses."

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca

Making Manitoba a 'have' province

More than 1,000 Manitobans participated in an online survey conducted by the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce gauging attitudes and the level of commitment people have in building a more competitive and prosperous province. The results showed that Manitobans are even more predisposed to become risk-taking entrepreneurs than people who filled out similar surveys in the U.S. and Ontario.

One of the survey questions was: If you won $2 million in the lottery, which one of the following would you most likely do with the money? Here's what percentange of Manitoba respondents said they would do, compared with Ontarians:
Reply With Quote