This document provides information on starting a business, including what an entrepreneur is, qualities of a successful entrepreneur, and initial steps for starting a business such as obtaining insurance, registering the business, and choosing an organizational structure. It also discusses components of a business plan such as an executive summary, company description, marketing plan, and financial projections. The document outlines financing options for starting a business including personal loans, lines of credit, grants, and programs through the Business Development Bank of Canada.

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Are you ready to start?
What is an entrepreneur?
– "An entrepreneur is a person who
assumes the organization,
management
and risks involved in a business
venture."
Qualities that make a successful
entrepreneur:
– Decision Maker
– Analytical Ability (problem solving
skills)
– Good Interpersonal Skills
– High Drive (highly motivated)
– Risk Taker
What you need:
✓ Personal skills
✓ Business knowledge
✓ A good idea!
✓ Start-up money
✓ Support
✓ Good personal
credit history

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Lets get down to business
▪ Buy business
insurance
– Liability
– Disability
– Key people
– Business interruption
▪ Prepare to have
employees
▪ Get a business
number
▪ Register for GST
and PST
▪ Choose the form of
business:
– Sole proprietor
– Partnership, or
– Incorporation
▪ Register your form
of business
▪ Get a business
licence
From an insurance
stand point
From a fiscal
stand point
From a legal
stand point
First steps to start a business:

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Your proposal
▪ Your proposal will include your business
plan as well as additional documentation
such as:
–Market research
–Industry trends
–Other information supporting your
project’s viability

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Your business plan
What is a business plan:
▪ A business plan can help
you detail your goals, and
serves as an operational
plan for achieving them
▪ Everyone who is going
into business and who is
operating a business requires
a business plan
Why a business plan?
✓ It describes your business
✓ It conveys your vision to
potential investors
✓ It explains your business
goals
✓ It raises potential problems
and ways to solve them
✓ It states the amount of
capital required to finance
your venture

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Your business plan
What it should include:
1.An executive summary
2.A description of your company
3.A description of your management team
4.An overview of your marketing plan
5.Human resources plan
6.Financial planning
7.Appendices that boost your credibility

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Your business plan
What it should include:
1.An executive summary
▪ Your industry, products/services, competitive
advantages, amount of financing required
2.A description of your company
▪ Legal status, date company founded, mission,
objectives and vision
3.A description of your management team
▪ Roles, experience and competence, education

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Your Business plan
Overview of your
Marketing plan
✓ Is there a proven market
for your products or
services?
✓ Who are your competitors?
✓ What is your client profile?
✓ What will you offer that is
better?
✓ How will you get them to
switch?
4. Marketing Plan
Four sections should be detailed:
1. Your product or services
▪ Why your products/services will
sell?
2. Your market potential
▪ Target clients, market size and
penetration, demographic factors
3. Overview of your competition
▪ Their strengths and weaknesses
4. Marketing strategy
▪ Overview of your Marketing plan,
media chosen, partners, etc.

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Your Business plan
5. Human resource plan
– Determine how you will recruit, retain and develop employees:
– HR Policy
– Subcontracting and outside professionals
– Organizational and development plan
6. Financial planning
– Forecasts, balance sheet, statement of income, cash flow
budget
7. Appendices that boost your credibility
– Brief bios of your management team, market studies, client
testimonials, etc.

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Finding financing
What lenders look for:
▪ Proof of experience, skills, determination, and self-
confidence to successfully carry out your project
▪ Your personal credit history – past performance can
affect perception about how you will perform in the future
▪ Your business plan must be clear, structured, and short,
but it must cover all elements of your business idea

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Finding financing
What lenders look for:
▪ For new and existing companies:
–Forecast for next 2 years
–A cash flow analysis that describes
your forecasts:
• Shows the seasonal fluctuations in your
business and prescribes the need for capital

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Financing to get started
Finding initial financing:
✓ Proof that you have a long-term
commitment to your project
1. Personal investment
money: Cash/collateral on
your assets.
✓ Bankers consider this asset as “patient
capital”
2. Gift capital or love money:
Money loaned by loved one
and that will be repaid later.
3. Investments from others:
Money you raise from
investors.
✓ Bankers regard such investment highly
✓ Proof that your idea is sound but can often
diminish the degree of control you have
over you own company

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Financing to get started
Finding initial financing:
✓ Policy for paying suppliers based on their
payment conditions (often 30 or 60 days after
delivery).
✓ Check with each supplier, since many offer
discounts for quick payment.
4. Supplier (A/P)
Financing:
✓ You may have access to grants, subsidies or
tax credits to help recover expenses such as
salaries or equipment.
5. Grants,
Subsidies and
Tax Credits:

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Financing to get started
✓ Money loaned to you, not your business
✓ Loan secured by your personal assets
✓ Many banks offer this type of loan to start-up businesses
or those with few assets (land, building or equipment)
1. Personal Loan
Type of loans:
✓ Short term, flexible financing that you manage yourself
✓ Borrowing as much as you need up to a determined
amount
✓ Secured by your inventory and accounts receivable, and
your bank can require full repayment at any time
2. Operating Loan
- Also called
Line of Credit

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Financing to get started
✓ Long-term financing option for fixed assets such as
equipment, land or building
3. Term Loan
Type of loans:
✓ Long-term financing to cover projects such as
Growth, Export, Marketing, e-Business, R&D, etc.
✓ Help provide you the cash flow to fuel your growth
✓ Complement your existing line of credit
4. Working capital
Loan

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Financing to get started
About BDC:
▪ BDC is a Crown corporation with a mission to help Canadian
entrepreneurs start and grow their companies
▪ BDC acts as a complementary lender in the market and
operates on a commercial basis (must be financially
sustainable)
Building tomorrow's businesses:
▪ For over 60 years, BDC has provided flexible financing and
consulting solutions that are tailored to the needs of
entrepreneurs and designed to help their business prosper

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Why choose BDC
BDC can provide support to entrepreneurs who:
▪ Are in the start-up or early growth phase
(first 12 months of sales)
▪ Can demonstrate realistic market and sales potential
▪ Possess experience or expertise in their chosen field
▪ Demonstrate key personal characteristics of a successful
entrepreneur
▪ Have assembled a competent management team
▪ Have invested reasonable financial resources in the
enterprise
▪ Can provide personal and credit references

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Why choose BDC
✓ For a variety of commercially viable
projects such as:
– expansion
– plant overhauls
– purchase of existing businesses
– acquisition of fixed assets
✓ In some cases, may be used to
reconstitute working capital depleted
by capital expenditures or to finance
sales growth
✓ Customized term financing up to
$150,000
✓ For new businesses demonstrating
long-term viability
✓ BDC can provide personalized
management support
✓ Can not be used for change of
ownership
Term Financing
(Flexible long-term financing)
Co-Vision
(Start-up financing program)
BDC start-up solutions at a glance:

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Why choose BDC
BDC start-up solutions offer a total solution
for entrepreneurs
▪ BDC may be able to offer:
–Up to $150,000 in financing
–Up to a 6-year repayment period
–Progressive or seasonal repayment options
tailored to your business’s cash flow
–Consulting and mentoring solutions

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Good to know…
Insights on investors and lenders
▪ Many entrepreneurs are intuitive and rely on their
experience, industry knowledge, and gut feelings to tell
them whether a project “makes sense”
▪ Most bankers are methodical, and won’t draw conclusions
quickly- especially if they don’t have all the facts before
them
▪ Given that they don’t have your technical knowledge, they
will want to see that you have thoroughly analyzed and
planned your project
▪ A thought out business plan is key to your success

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Useful resources
To help you get started:
✓ Strategis (Industry Canada): www.strategis.ic.gc.ca
– Useful resource to find industry-related information and tons of
information on what you need to do to get your business started
✓ Canada Business Service Centre: www.cbsc.org
– Excellent resource centre to help in writing business plans,
determining types of loans and other resources that may be
applicable to your business
✓ BDC: www.bdc.ca/startup or 1-800 INFO BDC
– # 1 resource for all your financing and consulting needs.
Templates of business plans available and lots of pertinent info.

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Thank you!
PowerPoint By
Aamir Sohail