The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), the government-sponsored financial institution dedicated to serving Canadian entrepreneurs, released a study called “A Nation of Entrepreneurs- The Changing Face of Canadian Entrepreneurship.” Since many visitors to the Experion site are entrepreneurs, or market their services to entrepreneurs, it would be helpful to sift through some results from this study.

As a coach and trainer who helps talented business professionals get booked solid by referral, I was delighted to see that “networking” is now considered a “vital managerial skill” to secure entrepreneurial success. In fact, it was considered one of four Vital Management Skills along with Organizational Management, Leadership and People Management, and Innovation.

Let’s have a look at other findings from the study.

There is a resurgence of entrepreneurial activity in Canada as 44,700 new entrepreneurs joined our ranks in 2018, the highest number in a decade, and many of them are young people. What’s more, 39% of entrepreneurs in 2018 were women, which compares to only 14% back in 1980. Given the rapid growth of women in the entrepreneurial world, parity is expected to happen by 2030.

But being an entrepreneur is not an easy road to travel. Fully one-third of all new businesses go bankrupt in their first five years. After 10 years, less than half of new businesses remain open.

The study also showed that three-quarters of entrepreneurs find their roles to be more stressful than corporate jobs. The list of entrepreneurial misery includes financial insecurity, “overwhelming” amounts of stress, and a lack of benefits. The study says: “Unfortunately, the high level of stress puts entrepreneurs at risk of developing mental-health issues.” Ouch! And yet that same study says that 90% of entrepreneurs are professionally satisfied!

The report also examined what entrepreneurs bring to the party and it starts with skills, both technical and managerial. The report says: “We found that entrepreneurs with higher skill levels have higher sales, profit and employment growth than other entrepreneurs in their sector of activity.” In fact, a 1-point increase in managerial skills raises the probability for success by 3.1% and an increase in satisfaction level by 10.7%.

The study concludes with this: “Since managerial and technical skills can be acquired through training, entrepreneurs looking to grow their businesses or increase their professional satisfaction might be interested in pursuing business coaching.”

So, while there is a price to pay for being an entrepreneur, it would appear that most of us are happy to pay it. At the same time, this contradictory state might explain another trend – the rise of the advisor as coach, consultant or mentor.