Young Entrepreneurs
My accounting business at 601 Front Street in Nelson, BC in 2011
In my mid 20's I worked for a very affluent accounting company in downtown Calgary, Canada as an accountant technician. We worked on big files, with some serious clients. But we were treated as kids. The manager would put silver and gold stars on the progress page for each file and give us Skittles as prizes!
The work contract included 50+ overtime hours scheduled at the boss's discretion. Not fun when you have to spend your precious weekend time working just to get silver stars! No-no-NO!
I had had enough! I was 30 and like many youth this milestone fuelled my desire for a BIG change — like more meaningful work on MY terms. I craved being able to have real connections with clients. So I bought a business and relocated to Nelson BC, a tiny town nestled in the West Kootenays, away from the booming metropolitan city.
Being self-employed at a young age was not a common or popular thing to do at the time. A career in a big city centre was considered to be far more prestigious and sought after.
Becoming an entrepreneur is not for everyone. With the growth of the internet and online sales, more and more people are moving in this direction. But the truth is that being an entrepreneur is much more than opening an online store and selling stuff — much of it is in the healthy connection we can develop within ourselves and then share with those we work with and our customers and clients.
My goal in life now is to support young entrepreneurs, women in business, indigenous peoples, and communities in their development of a healthy and strong business. I want to show people that they CAN bring joy and fulfilment far beyond what most of us are conditioned to expect from our work lives and that can equal prosperity.
A FEW FACTS
Did you know that of 20-29-year-olds in Canada only 7% men and 4.5% women who are self-employed ? Here in Ireland, the numbers are even lower — 3.9% men and 0% young female entrepreneurs!
I was fascinated when I read a report recently from 30 participating countries that showed Mexico has the highest number of young women in business — 13%! That number is also higher than the number of young men in business in Mexico.
Stay tuned. In the next blog, I will explore why Mexico has a higher number of young female entrepreneurs.
Source - The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).