BUY BC BUSINESSES Business Buyer's Guide Nicola ǀ Thompson ǀ Okanagan ǀ Boundary Regions Summer 2014 | Page 16

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.

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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

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