Are entrepreneurs themselves holding their businesses back from scaling? Canada has lost close to 100,000 entrepreneurs over the past two decades, according to the Business Development Bank of Canada. Today, more businesses are shutting down than launching. In the second quarter of 2025, the business exit rate reached 5.6%, while the entry rate dropped to 4.8% by the fourth quarter, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. This pattern has continued for six consecutive quarters, representing the first sustained period of net business losses in Canada outside the pandemic.
The challenges extend to younger companies. According to Equifax Canada, 38.7% of businesses were no longer operating within their first 24 months, based on first-quarter 2026 data. Those that make it beyond the early years are often built around the founder’s individual strengths. The owner may be the strongest salesperson, the most capable operator, or the person best at building relationships. The business succeeds because of the founder’s direct involvement and daily contribution.
But that formula eventually reaches its limits. The very qualities that helped establish the company can become barriers to its next stage of growth. A founder cannot attend every meeting, secure every customer, and oversee every decision. Eventually, the business requires a different kind of leadership from the person who originally built it.
This challenge appears across industries. The individual who launches a company is not necessarily the same person capable of scaling it. The difference is not simply about talent or effort; it is about identity. The habits, instincts, and beliefs that support a startup’s early success may not be suitable for its next phase. Yet many entrepreneurs struggle to make that transition because they do not recognize that their own evolution is part of the growth process.
Kent Boehm, a Calgary-based business coach and founder of Business Coaching Calgary, has worked with more than 400 entrepreneurs over the past two decades. He has observed that the person who establishes a business and the person who successfully scales it are rarely the same. “The person who shows up and starts a business is never the same person who scales it,” he says. The company may retain its original name, but the person leading it must evolve.
According to Boehm, that evolution involves more than acquiring new skills. It requires a shift in mindset and a willingness to abandon familiar ways of working. “We need to be willing to unlearn,” he says. The work ethic, instincts, and routines that helped someone grow a business from startup to $1 million in revenue may not be enough to take it to $10 million or beyond. “You can’t do 10 times more of the same thing.” Moving forward means creating space for new capabilities, which often requires letting go of approaches that have worked well in the past.
Perfectionism is one of the most frequent obstacles Boehm encounters. Entrepreneurs who insist on getting every detail right before taking action can find themselves making little progress. “Perfect is the enemy of growth,” he says. Real progress comes from acting, gathering feedback, learning, and making adjustments along the way. Expecting a perfect routine before going to the gym can prevent someone from starting altogether. Similarly, a business that waits for the ideal product, the perfect employee, or the right moment may never make meaningful progress.
Boehm recalls working with two business partners who faced very different challenges. One excelled at sales and developing relationships but struggled with management and team building. The other was highly detail-oriented but so committed to perfection that decisions and projects moved slowly. Neither partner could take the company to the next level independently, and their different approaches made collaboration difficult. Boehm’s solution was not to make either partner adopt the other’s personality. Instead, each needed to understand their strengths, recognize the responsibilities that drained them, and bring in people who could address the gaps. “We don’t have to do it all,” he says.
At a deeper level, Boehm sees business growth as a process of personal transformation rather than simply doing more work. He illustrates this through the example of water heating on a stove. With little heat, evaporation takes considerable time. Increase the heat and place a lid over the pot, however, and pressure accelerates the process. For Boehm, that pressure represents the combination of clear objectives and accountability. “Perturbation is the process of change.” Without challenges that encourage movement, founders can remain comfortable with familiar habits, and their businesses may remain at the same level.
For business owners, the message is that growth is not a destination or a project with a final completion date. It requires continuous development and a willingness to reconsider how they lead. The abilities that establish a company’s first stage may not be sufficient for its second. Founders who make their own development an ongoing priority are better prepared to navigate that transition than those who wait until a problem forces them to change. This challenge has always existed, although it can be easier to overlook when markets are expanding and the pressure to evolve is less immediate.
Ultimately, the entrepreneurs who successfully scale their businesses are not necessarily those who put in the longest hours. They are the ones prepared to grow beyond the person they were when they started. The founder’s willingness to change may be the most important variable in determining whether a business remains where it is or reaches its next level.
