including: start-up financing, presenting to investors, venture capital, ratio tools, budgeting and forecasting, bootstrapping
Canada, and in particular beautiful British Columbia, may be the best place in the world for product-based technology companies to conduct research and development (R&D), all because of SR&ED tax credits.
Whether you run a café, sell your products at a farmers’ market or provide professional services, all businesses have one thing in common: monetary transactions. Point of Sale (POS) systems process these transactions, provide reporting and can help manage staff and inventory. POS solutions can be cloud-based or license-based. Traditional POS systems through the licensing model can require several thousand dollars of upfront cost per register. Cloud-based POS applications have the most appeal to small and medium sized businesses due to their low upfront cost compared to on premise options.
Tax season is upon us! We doubt many of you look forward to this period, except of course the accountants among us. It is a time when we reflect on our finances and whether someone can assist us in meeting our financial targets. This overview is for the financial savvy among us who dream of helping others meet their financial goals and build a safety net.
You already have a great idea and all you need now is the financial resources to develop it, right? Figuring out how to get funding and financing for your business can seem incredibly daunting. However, there are numerous grants, funding and financing opportunities available in BC and Canada that are designed to help overcome the financial challenges of starting a new business.
You’ve got “THE” business idea that you’re convinced will be a success. But how can you convince your audience? With research! Prove You Know the Competition A good starting point is identifying your competition within your industry. Do thorough research to find out what makes you different from the competition, and use that difference to explain why customers will buy from you. For example, if you think locality makes you stand out, why does that matter to your customers? What data suggests that this is an asset in comparison to your competition?
One trend that you can expect to see growing in 2013 is Slow Money; an investment strategy inspired by the tenets of the Slow Food Movement and founded by Woody Tasch in 2009. Slow money claims to bring funds “back to earth” by encouraging small-scale investments in local farms and food producers.This is an exciting trend for small scale businesses in the agriculture sector as it has the potential to remove some significant financing barriers.
Does your business or start-up idea require capital to move forward but you don’t have much experience or are not comfortable giving presentations? Don't worry, you are not alone! There are many occasions when you will be called upon to make a pitch to investors, potential partners and customers in order to promote and advance your small business and brand.
The Small Business Access to Financing: Request and Approval Rates, Interest Rates and Collateral Requirements (2000-10) report by Daniel Seens was just released by Industry Canada. This report brought together and analyzed the results of two surveys: the Survey on Financing of Small and Medium Enterprises and the Credit Conditions Survey.
The 2012 Enterprize Canada Conference in downtown Vancouver brought together more than 350 university and high school students from throughout BC, and even across Canada. Students networked with professionals in seven-minute personal sessions, lunches, and the Saturday evening Gala Dinner. They received first-hand business advice in a series of panel discussions. SBA had a chance to sit in on several.
