Vancouver small business owners enjoyed the largest year-over-year boost in happiness levels this year relative to their counterparts across Canada, according to the TD Canada Trust Small Business Survey released today.
The survey found that 66% of Vancouver small business owners described themselves as “very happy” this year, relative to 61% last year.
In the other Canadian cities surveyed – Toronto, Calgary and Montreal – the average boost in happiness was three percentage points.
The survey found that Vancouver small business owners say the biggest benefit to owning their business is being able to help customers and clients (97%), followed by being their own boss (96%), being in control of their own destiny (94%), the sense of accomplishment (93%) and the opportunity to make more money (90%).
“Many people dream of being their own boss and owning their own business one day, so it’s no surprise that so many small business owners are happy where they are right now,” said Alec Morley, senior vice-president, small business banking, TD Canada Trust, in a press release.
The survey also found that Vancouver was the only city where small business owners had decreased their time in the office this year, with owners’ average weekly work hours dropping to 49.1 from 50.7 in 2010.
A TD Canada Trust spokesperson was not available by press deadline.
Jenny Wagler
Twitter: JennyWagler_BIV