Video: What you need to start a small business in Canada

As you get into small business ownership, knowing all that you need before you get into it, is always a good plan.

The video above, titled “What you need to start a small business in Canada”, will prepare you for the unexpected circumstances of business ownership and how to properly run a successful business.

This video is part of the small business video series, which you can access here to learn more about starting up, building a business plan, finding funding, and more.

What you need to start a small business in Canada

Starting a small business is never easy. There are many components that make up a successful business, and knowing them all before you jump in, is always a good first step.

So, let’s get started and take a look at all that you need to start your business.

In the above video, we will be going in detail about the 3 key components that you will need if you want to start your small business successfully in Canada.

The first step that will take you on the right path will be associated with your business idea itself.

What is your idea?

Is it based on a hunch, experience, or education?

This plays a major role in determining your success and we will be going into more detail in this.

If you have an idea in mind, you’ve already covered the first step and now comes the fun part – planning for it.

Sure you’ve already thought about it a bunch, but do you have a business plan? Do you know the ins and outs of the idea? Have you considered all that can go wrong – and how you will make it go right?

Are you aware of the financial situation that can be applicable to this business idea?

Well, something to discuss in more detail.

Lastly, while it all is tied together, starting a business costs money – and knowing how to use that money right, or knowing when to seek more funding, is a crucial step in starting a business.

Your Business Idea

A business idea is not something you generally come up with overnight. It is something you develop into.

The best business ideas will come from an understanding of a specific industry, perhaps due to your experience or knowledge, but no matter what it is, researching and fully understanding what you’re getting into before you do, is crucial.

If you don’t have a business idea just yet, not to worry; perhaps you can take some time to plan out what you are good at, know about and use that to determine the pros and cons of turning that career into a business.

For those who don’t have an idea of their own, a franchise is often a helpful way to get into an already existing business, with a proven process. While a franchise may cost more, the benefit of it is that you don’t have to go through the research phase as much. And you can immediately get into something that has a proven system.

However, if you do have an idea, your goal should be to prepare a business plan as the first step.

Having a business plan will ensure that you have noted down the key points of your idea into a business on paper. This will test your knowledge and see your shortcomings, allowing you to improve before you invest your time and money into the idea fully.

In addition to the business plan being helpful when planning your business, it will be a useful tool if you decide to seek money from the government, investors or banks.

Business Plan & Projections

One of the crucial components of having a successful business startup is to ensure you’ve carefully and thoroughly thought about your business model.

This is done with a business plan and proper financial projections.

When putting together your business plan, you have to consider nearly everything about your day to day operation of your business. This may be hard, especially when starting out, but this is a crucial step to get you thinking about your business. Trust me, it pays off in the long run.

When doing so, you should consider the specifics of:

– your products, or the service you plan on selling
– your customer base.
– the market you are in
– your competition
– how you plan on marketing the business
– the risks involved

and from there, you will get into the financials.

When working on your financials, it will help you determine quite a few things about your business model, which should better prepare you when you actually start the business

These will include you thinking about the revenue potential and how you plan on making money”

– the various costs of the business, including those one time costs as well as the on-going operational costs.
– it will also get you thinking about the capital you have, or may need.

By creating proper financial statements, including a clearly laid out balance sheet, cash flow and a profit loss – you will have painted a picture that can lead you on the right path to success with the business, but also with funding – shall that be what you’re seeking.

Do you have the needed capital?

Did you know that a typical small business owner can start with as little as $5,000?

Not all businesses are alike, and the expenses that you may have may be different from others, especially if you are starting a web-based business versus a brick-and-mortar location.

Generally speaking, the more money you have available to cover the needed costs, will actually determine if you are going down the easy road, or have some tough times ahead to plan thoroughly.

Money is available to borrow from banks, private investors, and government agencies, but it is crucial that you have a solid business plan in place to ensure you can get the funds and that you are not putting yourself at too much risk.

In the previous step, we discussed the steps of creating the formal business plan, as well as those needed financial projections. If done correctly, the outcome of that task would help you determine if you have enough money to move ahead, or if you need funding support.

One of the best ways for a Canadian small business to get funded would be to use the financial support options made available via the Canadian government.

There are plenty of funding options to help you with the various costs your business may need, like your rent, utilities, the tools and supplies, marketing costs, employees’ wages and so on.

These funds are given to entrepreneurs in order to help them startup, so be sure to consider all of the available options, including the grants, government loans and any other form of government funding available to you.

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As we are getting to the end here, we hope you’ve figured out what you need to start a business in Canada.

Start with your business idea. Whatever that may be, be sure to dedicate time to picking one that you are comfortable with.

Once your idea is in place, do a dry run. To do this, and to carefully think about each aspect of the business, put together a business plan that will cover the components needed. By doing so, you are planning your business on paper and expecting the unexpected.

Not only that, but you are also planning your future and determining if you have the capital needed to take this business to the next level, or if you need to borrow money to make it all happen.

Whatever the case may be, so start a business in Canada, be sure to work with a Canada Startups expert who will help with your business idea, building your business plan and finding the needed funds to make your dream come true – and stay tuned for the next video in the series as we get into the finer details about the business planning process.

If you have found the above video helpful, review the other small business startup videos in the series as we will be discussing various things related to small business ownership. From determining if you are ready to be a business owner to a few ideas that you can consider, uncovering some of the costs to start up or to run the business, and seeing all that you will need to be successful; be sure to check each video start to finish and share your comments with the experts at Canada Startups if you have any further questions.

Small Business Startups and Ownership