Kiwis are entrepreneurs

The entrepreneurial spirit in New Zealand is alive and well: according to figures released by Statistics New Zealand earlier this year, there were approximately 469,120 enterprises in New Zealand in February 2012, employing approximately 1.92 million workers. The real figure in relation to business numbers is likely to be higher than quoted as the statistics are limited to all employing units and those enterprises with GST turnover greater than $30,000 per year.

Their location

In terms of location, Statistics NZ advises that most of our businesses are broken down as follows:

Their employment

There are many sole traders out there: almost 70% of the surveyed enterprises in New Zealand do not employ other staff. The employment composition of New Zealand businesses is:

Their industry

New Zealand businesses are spread over a wide and diverse range of industries. In terms of business numbers, the ten most populous industry divisions by number of businesses are as follows:

Their longevity

Perhaps most sobering for would-be entrepreneurs is the sometimes high attrition rate of business lives. Approximately 17% of businesses started in New Zealand survive for less than one year and only 28% survive for a decade. The smaller the business, the less likely the ongoing survival rate. To an extent this may represent convenience, with a small non-employing business outliving its usefulness as the life stage of the owner changes over time.

For the 2012 calendar year, the births, deaths and operation figures were as follows:

While there are plenty of challenges associated with running a business, there are also many rewards. And most certainly for those with the desire to do so, the ability to start and run a business in New Zealand is on offer.