TLDR
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Entrepreneurship offers the opportunity to gain control over crucial aspects of your lifestyle, providing work-life outcomes that reflect your goals and priorities.
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For the vast majority of business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs, meaningful work is the primary motivation for starting a business.
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Successful entrepreneurs balance the unique challenges of owning a business with the freedom to chase their interests and passions, building a journey that aligns with who they are.
As many entrepreneurs will attest, entrepreneurship isn’t simply a career path — it’s a way of life. After all, being an entrepreneur isn’t something you do; it’s something you become. Building a business requires tenacity and focus, the willingness to learn new skills, and a good measure of patience with the process. Read on to learn from entrepreneurs who jumped in; here they share the impact owning a business has had on their lifestyle, their personal priorities and their goals for the future.
Work-life payoffs: Gaining control through entrepreneurship
A recent RBC Small Business Poll revealed that significant proportions of small business owners started their business so they could spend more time at home with those who matter most, like children (46%) and aging parents (40%). Indeed, entrepreneurship can enable you to gain control over crucial aspects of your life — from your location to scheduling flexibility to the people you interact with.
Jonathan Wilts, co-founder of Pegasus Biotech, didn’t want to continue chasing work. As a bench scientist for more than 25 years, he had moved companies and cities several times when labs closed. After the lab where he previously worked in PEI shut down, he decided to start his own business serving the global vaccine and biopharmaceutical industry. Not only was he keen to stay on the island to provide consistency for his young children, but the cost of living compared to cities such as Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver was an important draw for Wilts and his family.
“In biotech, you often have to move for the job. And we just got a little tired of that,” says Wilts, speaking for himself and his partners, Yimy Mena and Daniel Wilson. “I had a young family; Yimy had a young family. We thought if we ran our own business, we could have more stability.”
Bev Betteridge’s transition to entrepreneurship was for a similar reason. She was a successful CPA with a 25-year-strong resume and a consulting position at a premier firm in Regina. But, she says, “I just didn’t fit their mold.” The variety was interesting, but the hours put a strain on her family—and she needed to make a decision that was best for her. She stepped away to start out on her own, founding the Corner Office to provide outsourced finance and accounting services. As her business expanded, her commitment to work-life balance became a magnet for like-minded professionals. “I was attracting other CPAs who wanted the same thing as I did — that work-life balance that was really important to me.”
The opportunity to do meaningful work
When your work holds personal significance, you will likely be more engaged, committed and satisfied—and you’ll be ready to face daily challenges as they arise. The same RBC poll found that a remarkable 93% of business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs cite meaningful work as the primary motivation for starting a business.
As an entrepreneur, you have the freedom to pursue endeavours that feel fulfilling, make a difference in your community and offer you a sense of true purpose. Lucy Salinas, founder of The Wholeness Warriors, launched her business to provide advice, counselling and training for women with health issues. “I have always wanted to serve,” she explains, recalling her own severe health challenges and the expertise she gained in navigating her personal journey. Today, she feels she has been “called to a higher mission” — one that she is fulfilling through entrepreneurship.
The freedom to follow a passion
There is great joy to be found in following a career path that you love. Entrepreneurship provides the freedom and flexibility to pursue interests that reflect who you really are.
Take, for instance, Shawn Black, founder of Sheepdog Brew Co. Black is an army veteran and a police officer with 15 years on the job. He and his partner wanted to do something more positive than respond to 911 calls. “If you’ve ever called 911, it wasn’t because something was going well,” he notes. With the aim of starting a business that was fun and uplifting, Black and his partner landed on coffee. “Even just the smell of coffee in the car was enough to brighten our spirits—you don’t even have to drink it. So, we decided to get into hobby coffee roasting.” They tried a few approaches, finally deciding to pursue cold brewing, a category he has a lot of heart for and is actively growing in Winnipeg.
Rebecca Swedlove, owner of Aqua-Tots Kanata, was a swimmer through university and passionate about providing quality swim lessons to kids. When she discovered the Aqua-Tots Swim School franchise, she knew she had found the place she was meant to be. “I found my ‘why’ when I found Aqua-Tots,” she says. Having recently partnered with the Ottawa Drowning Prevention Coalition, she can further nurture her passion to educate children about water safety and prevent drownings. “There’s the business side of it, but also the why side. I want to continue to build partnerships and meet the needs of the community.”
Entrepreneurs embark on this journey and its challenges to create a distinct life for themselves. Whether their motivations are rooted in personal aspirations, a desire to make a difference or a blend of both, they are determined to shape their futures on their own terms. To turn your small-business vision into reality, explore RBC’s robust planning tools to help you get started.
