Gen Zers, the “social media” generation, have gained a reputation for a lot of things. One thing to add to the list is being entrepreneurial, according to a survey from GoDaddy that finds three-quarters of post-secondary aged Canadians have already, or plan to, start their own business.
The study find that Gen Z Canadians, characterized by those aged 18-26 (technically, Gen Z should include kids born from 2012 so this study covers only working-age Gen Zers) believe they would be better suited as their own bosses. One-in-two Gen Z Canadians (53%) feel that their generation is better equipped to start a business than previous generations, with 63% stating they believe technology makes it easier for them to start a business. Among this tech-savvy entrepreneurial demographic, three-in-four (77%) respondents either have their own business, or plan to start one.
When building a career or business, Gen Z Canadians are committed to long-term growth: 68% of Gen Z understand building a business takes time, and that it may take over a year to see success. Almost six-in-10 (58%) are willing to fail and try again, and 50% state they are willing to take short-term financial losses to achieve long-term success.
On barriers to entrepreneurship, lack of financial resources (61%) was reported as the biggest barrier to starting their own business: Lack of confidence or fear of failure was second highest, with young women more likely to report confidence as a barrier than young men (50% of women versus 38% of men). Other factors included lack of skills or expertise (37%), not enough time (26%) and lack of support (22%).
“Canada’s youth are tomorrow’s innovators and entrepreneurs, and we’re inspired by their continued drive and optimism for entrepreneurship,” says Young Lee, Canada Market Lead at GoDaddy.
Beyond considering starting their own businesses, when thinking about future career options, young Canadians say a secure income and work/life balance is significantly more important than autonomy or job security. The top three factors to consider when evaluating future career choices were secure income (49%), work/life balance (38%), and passion (32%). Younger respondents (18-21) were more likely to report that passion is more important than financial security (38%) while older respondents (22-26) saw financial security as more important (67%).
Despite common belief, it isn’t all about money. Three-in-four (76%) were willing to take up to a 26% salary cut to do work they were passionate about.
One thing Gen Zers do worry about, however, is artificial intelligence (AI) and its role in the future of tech and jobs. Even so, almost 2 in 3 Canadians are already using AI tools, which puts their adoption higher than other English-speaking markets like Australia, the U.K., and even the U.S. But over half (56%) are worried about AI’s impact on their future.
The survey was conducted by Antenna, an independent consumer research agency on behalf of GoDaddy. It was conducted online in July 2023 with 4,232 people aged 18-26 across Australia, the U.K., Canada and the U.S., including 1,069 people in Canada. The Canadian survey data collection was national and respondents were sourced using an accredited online research access panel. Data was weighted for representation against country census data.