BUY BC BUSINESSES Business Buyer's Guide Cariboo ǀ Chilcotin ǀ Northern Regions Summer 2014 | Page 17

SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE Entrepreneurs and small business are critical to the economic health and prosperity of our communities. From creating and maintaining jobs that support families, to producing goods and services, small business is the engine driving British Columbia’s economy. • • • • • • • • • Small business accounts for 98% of all business in British Columbia Of the 385,900 small businesses operating in the province in 2012, 82% had fewer than five employees In 2012, 26% of BC’s Gross Domestic Product was generated by small business, compared to the national average of 25 percent BC ranks first in the country for the number of small businesses per capita, with 83.5 per 1,000 people 55% of private sector jobs in 2012 were provided by small businesses; second highest in Canada Small business employed over a million people in the province in 2012 Between 2011 and 2012, small business employment in BC grew by 0.4 percent, slightly faster than the national rate of 0.2 percent In 2012, small business provided 31 percent of all wages paid to workers in BC, the highest share of all provinces The accommodation and food services industry was the largest provider of new small business jobs in BC between 2007 and 2012. Employment in this industry climbed 5.2 percent, creating approximately 4,600 new jobs over the five year period For a complete Small Business Profile and other information relating to small business, please visit: www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca ǀ http://www.gov.bc.ca/jtst/ www.resourcecentre.gov.bc.ca LO O K I NG TO S E L L OR B UY A BUSI NESS? Planning is a key element of any successful business sale. This is especially true in a buyer’s market. Venture Connect offers a number of planning services, each designed to meet business owner needs and budgets. Buyers will have questions and sellers need answers.There are many businesses for sale and buyers will move on if a seller is too slow to respond, cannot locate important information or if the deal becomes too difficult. Sellers must remember they are in competition for buyers. Be prepared. Getting in front of the buying market is obviously, key. It is anticipated that over the next twenty years, more than three quarters of this market will come from locations outside of BC. Venture Connect has built its marketing strategies and activites with this in mind. Maintaining strong communities motivates Venture Connect to work hard connecting business buyers and sellers thereby keeping active businesses in communities throughout BC. Contact a Venture Connect representative today. 1 .855.42 1 . 0 0 8 2 Find us on Facebook