Off the Ground Blog
Industry Overview: Restaurants
Restaurants are found in both rural and urban communities and are consistently a popular start-up idea. As such, we want to provide you with a current industry overview, trends and challenges as well as provide some research resources for those interested in opening a restaurant.
Resource Highlight: Free or Low Cost Webinars for Small Businesses
There are lots of resources available to entrepreneurs who want to expand their knowledge on topics relating to small and medium sized businesses. However, not everyone has the time, money or desire to register for a traditional class. This week we have compiled a list of online webinars relating to small business that are free or very low cost. While some may be formatted more like a college course and take weeks to complete, many are just an hour in length.
Resource Highlight: Hiring Students and Young People
There are numerous initiatives to encourage Canadian employers to hire students and young people as well as provide mentoring services to young entrepreneurs. These programs have numerous benefits for both BC businesses and BC's young people and students. In this blog, we will highlight three such programs that BC entrepreneurs and businesses can become involved with:
Guest Post: Cut Overhead by Reducing Power Usage
Whether you work alone or have an office full of employees, monthly utility bills can comprise a significant portion of your company's expenditures. But just because your initial budget may have accounted for several hundred dollars a month (or far more) of electricity usage doesn't mean that you're obliged to keep up that quota. By chipping away at your monthly bill through simple measures, you will free up more money for all of your business's other needs.
How to do Business Research: The Basics
It can be daunting to begin business research for your start up idea. There is so much information out there, how do you know where to start and what to look for?
Guest Post: Legal Matters for Startups and Small Businesses
This blog posting is for two types of people: business people with a legal issue, and lawyers with a business issue. I’ll touch on each in order.
New models for financing: Slow money
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.
Hot Industry Trends
Starting a business is always risky, but being an entrepreneur also has the potential for great rewards. Keeping tabs on industry trends can help you strike while the iron is hot. Here are the 11 best business opportunities for this year published by Inc.com.
The newcomer’s introduction to starting a business in British Columbia
Starting a business can be a complicated process and is often different in different places. Newcomers or non-Canadians wishing to start a business in Canada have some extra considerations before getting started. In this blog post we will share some great resources and support services to help the entrepreneurial immigrant start a business in British Columbia.
The Evolving Workplace (Part 2 of 2): Is a Co-working Space Right for You?
Today workspace options are more flexible and varied than ever before. Of course, there is the traditional office and the virtual work environment, but now, for those of you who want a bit of both, there is the shared office or co-working space. Co-work or collaborative work spaces are on the rise. Let's take a look at what exactly a co-working space means and what the draws are for entrepreneurs. Then we'll explore where you can find co-work spaces in BC.