Posts

Starting Business in Canada? Basic Tips to Follow

/in /by

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship ArticleWhether you are a Canadian or a new immigrant you might want to start your own company and be your own boss.

Statistics Canada showed in 2010 that 5.3% of immigrants started a business after living in Canada for a few years. At the same time, only 4.8% of Canadian citizens owned a private company in 2010. So, everything is in your own hands and all you have to do is to keep in mind the following information.

There are a lot of important things to consider about how to start a business in Canada. In this article, you will find the basic tips from financing and marketing to business planning in Canada.

Build Your Credit Score

If you are new to Canada, you may not have a credit history that banks can rely on to lend you the money for your startup.

There are several fast ways to build up your credit score. One of them is to build up your borrowing potential by signing up for a credit card. Make sure you use it with responsibility and in six months your credit score will slowly start to develop. Later on, you will be able to use it in order to finance your startup.

Pay attention to your credit score even after you’ve been approved for a loan as this is when problems may happen if you fail to repay the loan on time and in full.

Some lenders may approve your application for Canada loans for bad credit customers but it is not guaranteed that you will get the required amount and terms. Such loans are typically issued as personal cash advances rather than business financing options. Although, it may be enough to cover some small current business expenses.

Understand Canadian Culture

If you want your business to be successful in any country, you have to embrace its culture and understand local customers, what they like to purchase and how.

The best way to get immersed in a new culture is to join volunteer organizations and get involved in business associations or any other place where you can easily mix with people who know this country better and have lived here for a longer time.

After you’ve successfully built your local network, you may develop your business and make connections elsewhere.

Make Your Personal and Business Banking Accounts Separate

This piece of advice may seem obvious, yet so many business owners make the same mistake and start their own company not just out of a basement or an old garage, but also out of their personal bank account. Set up a separate business bank account that won’t mix with your personal one.

Also, make sure you have enough money to cover your personal expenses for at least six months while your company is getting started.

It always takes some time before the business becomes profitable so it’s always beneficial to have a good baseline. Even if you don’t have that money at the moment, you can start saving or find a job.

The website of the Government of Canada performs a useful page called Preparing to Work, which provides with additional information on how to land a job in Canada, tips on how to improve your English/French or get your credentials assessed. More than that, familiarize yourself with laws you will be required to follow as an entrepreneur, maybe even consult a business attorney if necessary.

Give your startup a fighting chance by creating a solid foundation with these basic for starting a business in Canada.

Money Saving Strategies For YOUR Business

/in /by

Whatever your business, whatever its size and whatever industry you operate in, you doubtless walk the same fine line as any other business, the line between maximising your profits and keeping your operational costs down to a minimum. All SMEs need cash, not just to pay their bills and vendors, but to give them the liquidity that can help their business seize vital opportunities for growth.

There are many and diverse ways of saving money, from using heat tape to save on plumbing costs to filling your office with energy saving fluorescent bulbs but, as with most things, the difference between success and failure is strategy. It’s not enough to implement a money saving measure, it’s important to monitor its effectiveness by monitoring its effects on costs over a quarterly or monthly period, enabling you to strategize accordingly.

Here are some money saving ideas that can benefit virtually any business.

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article
Photo courtesy of Pexels

Outsource your marketing

Marketing is not a luxury or a frivolity, it’s a vital tool in ensuring your business’ reach and longevity and it’s not an area where you should skimp. You may not find it prudent to outsource your entire marketing strategy. A potent content marketing strategy, for example, will most likely be based around your personal blog, which relies on the uniqueness of your knowledge, insight and experience.

Marketing campaigns can be tailored to suit whatever budget you choose to allocate to it, although it’s worth noting that marketing is one of the most prudent investments you can make. It’s important to build a good relationship with a marketing firm you can trust. They should be able to show you examples of previous successful campaigns and all their costs should be transparent and explained upfront with no hidden expenses.

Negotiating with vendors

A good relationship with your vendors is important, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of your business. If your vendor isn’t rewarding your loyalty then it may be looking elsewhere. Vendors face difficulties with the economy as much as any of their customers, and they should be making efforts to incentivize your loyalty. Most vendors would rather negotiate a better price with their customers than see them defect to another vendor who may lure them in with a special introductory price.

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article
Photo courtesy of Pexels

Substitute traditional advertising with inbound marketing

The world of advertising and marketing is changing. There was a time when small businesses were limited to advertising on local radio or in local papers or (if they were big spenders) on a local TV network. Now, SMEs have a medium through which they can get their message across for free… The key is getting their leads to engage with it. If you’ve allocated a budget to old media advertising, it may be worth considering re-allocating it to Search Engine Optimization or a Pay Per Click campaign. You can even grow your reach organically through your content marketing campaign. Youtube videos, blogs, white papers, slideshows and webinars are great ways of expanding your business’ reach at little or no costs.

Recommended Resource – Finance Without Fear

/in , /by

Finance Without Fear: A Guide to Creating and Managing a Profitable Business
by William S. Hettinger and John Dolan-Heitlinger

About the Reference

Finance Without Fear: A Guide to Creating and Managing a Profitable Business by William S. Hettinger and John Dolan-Heitlinger unveals the mysteries of financial statements in this easy-to-understand, example filled book. William and John arm leaders with the knowledge of what is in each financial statement, how statements relate to each other, and, more importantly, how business operations impact reported financial outcomes.

Benefits of Using this Reference

StrategyDriven Contributors like Finance Without Fear because it imparts the appropriate level of financial report understanding needed to be a successful executive or manager while not requiring the reader to be a CPA. Additionally, the illustrative examples relating business operations to financial statements clearly conveys the relationships and importance of strategic and day-to-day decisions to the financial well-being of the organization.

StrategyDriven Contributors believe it is vitally important for all executives and managers to understand how operational decisions impact financial performance and its conveyance in financial statements. Likewise, it is critical that these leaders be able to draw conclusions about business operations from their financial statements. While newly ascending managers may not have this knowledge, they should seek and be provided this information early in their management careers. Finance Without Fear can be used to impart such knowledge; making it a StrategyDriven recommended read.