Over on my original blog I debunk the myth that 9 in 10 businesses fail in the first year - in fact 76 percent of new [US] businesses were open after two years.

I came across some Canadian stats that shows that 75% survive two years and 20% were still in operation after 10 years.

Of all firms that were created during the 1990s, roughly one-quarter ceased to operate within the first two years according to a new report that analyzes the impact of economic developments on business dynamics during the past decade.

Just over one-third of these firms survived five years or more, and only one-fifth were still in operation after 10 years. Via The StatsCan

Rick Spence was the one who drew my attention to this piece of StatsCan [2005] information on his Selling to Small Business blog. Rick is the former editor of Profit Magazine. I wonder if Rick will ever reply to my email? Anyways, Rick also blogs at Canadian Entrepreneur. Rick Quotes the StatsCan study to point out:

"only 0.2% of firms employed 500 or more employees, but they represented 42% of total employment. The vast majority (92%) of companies employed fewer than 20 workers, and they accounted for 21% of total employment." Via Selling to Small Business

Tag your it Rick Spence.