Lesson 1

Lesson 1: Owning and Operating a Small Business

Focus

Small businesses play a significant role in the Canadian economy. According to Industry Canada, as of December 2010, there were approximately one million businesses in Canada with at least one employee. Of these one million businesses, 75% had fewer than ten employees, and 55% had only one to four employees.

Would you like to create a small business and be part of that 55%? Operating your own business has many advantages, including the following:

• You get to choose the people with whom you work.
• You can follow your passion and choose what work you take on.
• You can experience the satisfaction of creating something on your own.

In this lesson you will explore the different financial calculations involved in starting and operating a small business.

Lesson Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to

• analyze day-to-day expenses and revenue of a small business
• analyze start-up costs of a small business
• analyze the feasibility of a small business

Lesson Question

You will investigate the following question:

• How do financial decisions affect the profitability of a small business?

Assessment

Your assessment may be based on a combination of the following tasks:

• completion of the Lesson 1 Assignment (Download the Lesson 1 Assignment and save it in your course folder now.)
• course folder submissions from Try This and Share activities
• additions to Glossary Terms
• work under Project Connection

Self-Check activities are for your own use. You can compare your answers to suggested answers to see if you are on track. If you have difficulty with concepts or calculations, contact your teacher.

Remember that the questions and activities you will encounter provide you with the practice and feedback you need to successfully complete this course. You should complete all questions and place your responses in your course folder. Your teacher may wish to view your work to check on your progress and to see if you need help.