When Laura Robinson, was first looking for full-time employment she never expected that she would one day be employing herself. Like many millennials, Robinson recognized herself as being most efficient when left to work independently, which is why when the opportunity arose to do something she loved on her own terms she took it. Laura saved money while working in a bank job and is now the owner of The Scone Ladies.
With Statistics Canada reporting that over two hundred thousand Canadians were self-emplyed in 2015, Robinson isn’t lonely in the entrepreneur world. According to Startup Canada, Robinson’s bakery is classified as a “micro-enterprise” and her shop is one of over 1.2 million small businesses in Canada. Although she boasts about the benefits of being self-employed, she says there are also disadvantages. Not having to report to anyone or follow a schedule are two of her favourite parts of owning her own business, but being responsible and accountable for running the bakery can be exhausting.
She say’s the most rewarding part of her day is when she fill’s a huge order, or pulls off a task that would be deemed impossible by anyone else. Although she loves what she does, she says that when you own your own business you are always learning and have to take everything in stride. Robinson prefers her new role as “boss” over her bank job, but notes that her life changed drastically when she bought the bakery and she has had to since cut down on her materialistic needs and readjust her priorities.