Planning time a luxury for small business owners, according
to RBC survey
TORONTO, October 16, 2006 — For many small business
owners in Canada, having the time to think about long-term
future growth opportunities and to achieve an ideal work/home
life balance is a luxury, according to the 2006 RBC Small
Business Survey.
"The findings in this year's survey shed light on the
day-to-day challenges small business owners face in trying
to manage their business, plan for growth, and maintain an
acceptable level of work/home life balance," notes Kristina
Depencier, national manager, Small Business for RBC Royal
Bank. "Many small business owners are looking for ways
to better manage their day-to-day workload, to give them more
time to focus on other priorities, both at work and in their
personal lives."
When asked how well they felt they are balancing work and
home life, for example, 61 per cent indicated that there was
room for improvement, with only 39 per cent stating that they
felt they were balancing work and home "very well".
The top five pieces of advice small business owners have for
other businesspeople seeking a better work/home life balance:
Take time for yourself and your family; set clear boundaries
between work and home; put your family and home life first;
set realistic business goals; efficiently manage your time.
"Regardless of the stage their business is at, or the
long-term plans they have in mind, small business owners struggle
with time management," added Ms. Depencier. "It's
not that small business owners want to be able to work more
hours in any given day - they're looking for suggestions to
help them use the hours they already have in a better way."
In fact, the RBC survey found that if more efficient time
management freed up even one 'extra' hour a day for small
business owners, 58 per cent of Canadian small business owners
would most likely spend that hour as "personal time"
- with their spouse or family (32 per cent), for relaxation
or "down time" (16 per cent), or catching up on
personal-related matters (10 per cent).
To help ease their current time crunch, many small business
owners are turning to their financial institutions for online
services, including paying bills (48 per cent), reviewing
their bank accounts and conducting bank transactions (39 per
cent), filing their taxes (37 per cent), downloading banking
information into financial software applications (21 per cent),
and relying upon e-mail money transfers to make immediate
payments to suppliers to ensure faster delivery (20 per cent).
These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid/RBC Royal Bank poll
conducted between August 4 and August 14, 2006. For the survey,
invitations were sent to a representative sample of Canadian
small business owners 18 years of age or older, resulting
in 2,032 completed online interviews. With a sample of this
size, the results are considered accurate to within ±2.2
percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
RBC Royal Bank delivers a wide range of financial services
and practical advice to small and medium-sized businesses
and their owners. RBC is Canada's leading financial institution
for small business, serving one in four small businesses.
For practical advice and information about starting, owning
and managing a small business, visit: www.rbcroyalbank.com/business/resources.
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For further information, please contact:
Kathy Bevan, Media Relations, (416) 974-8810
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