This sculpture demonstrates how important it is for sailors to work together to achieve their goal of smooth sailing. Entrepreneurs, by nature work alone. But it is essential that Entrepreneurs find a "team" to work with. Finding the right consultant can provide those solo Entrepreneurs with objective and professional knowledge that the Entrepreneur just doesn't have. News Release: The stats are incredible when it comes to people wanting to start their own business, but for many they just don’t have the time, or knowledge of how to get started.  That’s where we shine says Lynda Kavanagh, owner of  WOW Communications and Training, that offers a variety of marketing training and consulting programs for current businesses, but she says the company really specializes in helping people start their own business.  “I can speak from experience" says Lynda. "I’m 15 years old, in Entrepreneur years, and when I started they didn’t even have that word Entrepreneur. Much of my businesses beginnings were trial and error, which unfortunately is costly and makes it hard to keep motivated.”  Lynda loves being an Entrepreneur. She says she would rather “drink battery acid” than ever go work for someone else, but she says it’s not all smooth sailing. And the statistics of Entrepreneurial success verify that.   For example, she cites a Statistics Canada study, “Failure Concerns”, that says the top three reasons for failure of a new business are: management deficiency, financial management problems and poor marketing.  In a 2005 Statistics Canada study on Key Small Business Statistics, one theme emerged:  The first few years of operation are critical to a business’ future. While almost three quarters of small business start-ups survive the first year, less than one third of micro-companies (fewer than five employees) were in business after five years.  According to Stats Canada, there were about 146,000 business start-ups a year from 1994 to 2004 with an average of 12,000 business bankruptcies per year from 1994 to 2004 in Canada.  “The number of annual business failures can be intimidating,” Lynda says. “The key to avoiding being one of those failures is to realize you can’t be an expert in all aspects of running your business. It’s best to stick to what you know and pay for good solid advice from experts in the areas you aren’t sure about. Guesswork is the kiss of death in any business.”  One major development, in the small business sector, involves Entrepreneurs age 55 and over.  Since 2001, companies run by those in the 55-plus age group have increased by 140,000 or 30 per cent, according to the CIBC report called “Seniorpreneurs”.  Kavanagh says this emerging group constitutes more than 30 per cent of the Canadian workforce, so the potential for new businesses starting up is huge.  “However, there’s likely a lot of that Seniorpreneur group who really don’t know all the steps they should take to enhance their chances of success,” Kavanagh says. “They come from a variety of backgrounds, but mostly they’ve worked for someone else. It’s a whole new skill set to run your own business.”  Lynda says she loves working with new entrepreneurs because of their excitement, enthusiasm and energy. She adds she would just like to see more of them take action in the early stages to ensure success.  “Being an entrepreneur can be a great way to earn a living. There’s no feeling like running the show yourself – and surviving.”