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Starting a new business is an exciting prospect for any entrepreneur. But making your idea become a reality can be incredibly challenging. If you’ve decided to take the plunge into business ownership, odds are you already have the motivation in you to get things done. However, you may lack the necessary knowledge on how to start your venture.
So we’ve put together a guide on how to get yourself set up for success in North America and especially in Canada, ranked as one of the world’s leading economies.
1. Plan Your Business
A business can’t go anywhere without a business plan.
To some entrepreneurs a business plan may sound daunting, but it doesn’t have to be a mega document. Once your plan is precise, clear and sound, a banker will consider reviewing it. Your plan should include the perfect narrative that sells your company, backed up by financial figures and research.
Before starting a business, it is vital to carry out market research. Your market research should investigate your potential rivals or partners.
Crucially, the research should tell you why are people not doing what you plan to and outline if there is a good reason for this.
2. Identify Yourself
Once you have all your research and plans in place, it’s time to give yourself a name. When choosing a name for your business, it is important to think about how you’d like your business to be perceived by the public. Make sure the name in some way reflects the product or service you offer – this will help prevent consumers being confused and wary when you’re trying to break into the market.
It’s also important to go with something that is easy to pronounce, and to make sure it is unique and original to avoid legal issues.
Once you have given your business an identity, it is important that you protect it. Registering your business means that you won’t have to worry about someone taking your name, or more importantly, undermining your big idea when your venture becomes successful.
You may also want to ensure you have a relevant domain name available for your business, matching with your business name as closely as possible.
Crucially, it could also save you from getting run over in a partnership, should unforeseen circumstances arise.
Here is a short list of things you should have in order to make sure your business can become a reality:
- Registered business name
- Where your main office will be located
- Business structure (LLC, corporation, partnership, etc)
- Trademarks, copyrights or patents
- A domain name for your business which will host your website and email boxes for your team
A lot of these things are easy to organise, but it is recommended that you consult a lawyer to make sure you’ve covered everything that you need and put your mind at ease.
3. Make It Official
To legally register your business with the Canadian Government you must first visit the Business Registration Online (BRO) page.
The requirements for your business may be different based upon your business type. Provincial requirements can be different for corporations, sole traders and cooperatives.
Your business must have the following to start legally operating:
- Federal tax ID
- State tax ID
- The relevant permits/licenses
- Necessary bank account
- Business Name registration if the business name is different from the company name
A full list of the contact details for provincial and territorial registers are available on the Canada Business Network site.
4. Raise The Necessary Funds
There are lots of ways to raise the funds you need to get your business up and running.
You may be able to finance the business yourself. This could take a while and comes with a lot of financial risk – but if it works out the reward is that you can be in total control of where your company is going.
If you haven’t got the savings, you could seek a bank loan or line of credit.
If you’d rather not deal with the banks, perhaps your friends and family have enough faith in you and your idea to invest.
There are several other ways to raise your capital including online crowdfunding, applying to angel investor groups and joining a startup incubator.
You may even consider taking a small business loan from new-age financial companies who can help you when banks turn you down.
The Canadian Government has a searchable, online directory of more than 1,000 federal grant programs that your business may be eligible for, and would cost you zero equity.
5. Trade Commissioner Service
Another way in which your fledgling can seek support would be by speaking to your local Canadian Trade Commissioner‘s office.
The Canadian Trade Commission have offices present in several countries, across 160 cities. The Ontario Government itself has fifteen locations worldwide to help you with setting up your business in Canada with every support imaginable.
They can offer you advice on exporting products, including information on free-trade agreements, tariffs, sanctions and export controls.
6. Take On The World
Around about now you’re feeling pretty good about yourself and your idea, as it’s time to finally bring it all to life.
If things take off the way you had hoped for, growth is inevitable. Soon you’ll be able to employ more workers to help you with the increased workload – and depending on what your product or service is, you may even start to do some international business.