Business Funding Challenges for Small Businesses in Canada
As a small business in Canada, starting up or expanding - running your business can get pretty frustrating. Having to deal with all of the financials, trying to figure out what to do and what not to do, trying to find funding to help you further improve your business, what a mess.
Here are 3 steps that will supercharge your business funding search and help you get funding that you can use towards your business to hopefully make your life a little bit easier.
3 Steps to Supercharge Your Business Funding Search
While everybody will have something to tell you when it comes to starting a business, building a business plan or even searching for funding, these 3 steps are proven to work as demonstrated many times via experts here at CanadaStartups.org and from the hundreds of members who have been able to successfully obtain government funding or private funds for their business in Canada.
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So here we go:
Step #1: Creating the Perfect Startup Business Plan
You may think that you can start a business without a business plan, and you are right. There are many small businesses who have started up and never wrote anything down anywhere that they could call a business plan. You have these types of businesses every day (mechanics, plumbers, cleaning companies, website businesses, etc). Maybe even your business. Whatever the idea is that you have can be started without having a business plan.
BUT if you’re looking to get funding for your small business, and not the kind of funding that your family or friends will give you, but the kind that may come from private investors or from government funding agencies, then you will need to create a business plan.
Yes, a business plan is complicated to do. It can be expensive, you may have never written a business plan before so it can also be scary, but there are so many non-complicated ways to build a business plan these days that not creating a business plan should never be an option.
While there are so many options to create a business plan, it can also get confusing and complicated.
Take a look at our very own Business Plan Builder Tool.
Our tool has actually been rated as the most user friendly business plan builder tool, which is great news for you.
With no experience and no real business plan writing experience needed, just get in and start filling out the blanks step by step. Soon after, you will have a well-developed business plan on your hands that you can use to supercharge your funding search.
But don’t worry, you are never on your own.
Our Business Plan Builder tool is easy to use and has a very intuitive interface. It also comes with expert support as well as a dedicated business plan review service from the pros. Simply complete your business plan, download a copy, send it to our experts, and you get actionable feedback on how to further improve your business plan.
Especially useful if you are intending on searching for government funding.
Developing a business plan that shows your business idea is the quickest way that you will get your point across and a great tool to help you in your business funding search.
Step #2: Your Funding Needs
Your business funding search does not have to be complicated or hard at all, but the mistake that many people make in the beginning of their funding search is what hurts them in the long run.
It is actually that mistake that causes all of the misconceptions which come with government funding and government grants.
These are the misconceptions that cause a lot of people to fail in their funding search, to give up too early, or to not take the necessary steps to find funding.
That mistake is grouping funding needs into one lump sum.
A real example of that so that you can see what we mean would be:
Joe’s Construction Company Inc. needs funding to help Joe start up. He needs a total of $125,000 from third parties such as government funding sources in order to start his business. Joe completes his business plan, shows exactly the need for $125,000, and he starts the funding search, but it seems that every program keeps denying him.
What is the mistake?
In this case, Joe needed $25,000 to buy a truck, $30,000 to pay for wages of employees, $15,000 to develop a website, $50,000 for other tools and equipment, and $5,000 for marketing. He grouped the funding needs together and asked for $125,000.
This is not always bad, but in order to be able to apply to multiple funding sources, Joe would have been better off breaking down the funding needs. If that was done, Joe would have been able to apply to programs that help with startup costs, marketing and advertising, tools and equipment, and development.
This mistake is one of the top mistakes that small business owners make when doing a business funding search and applying to funding programs.
Now that you know, you can ensure your business plan is adjusted and corrected for the best funding search.
Step #3: Using 3rd Party Funding Databases and Services
Funny how this is the third step of supercharging your business funding search, isn’t it?
You are probably saying, “If I want government funding, I’m going right to the source.” And you are right. You should go to the source if you know which program is right for you, if you know the criteria, if you know how to apply, what to provide, when to apply, and you have it all figured out.
In fact, here is the Government of Canada website to help you.
So why would anyone want to use third-party sources to get the funding information and assistance searching for business funding?
The truth is the Government of Canada is huge. There are hundreds of funding programs from many funding agencies, and you simply will not know where to search.
The government does an okay job of displaying the funding programs and options, but what third-party websites such as the Canada Startups Small Business Startup Portal do better is specialize in this area.
We help you start up, build your business plan, have experts review it to gear it toward funding, and then give you access to the number one rated business funding database as shown in Google.
This means that once you join, you not only get expert help but also access to all government funding programs in one place, broken down and made easy to search. This allows you to spend less time searching and more time building your business.
Our funding experts also help you find funding programs so that you do not have to do it all on your own.
This is the perfect step to help you supercharge your business funding search right from home.
We are not the only ones that provide funding information, but we do know what our customers say about us. We also have to warn you about a few things:
- If using third-party databases, ensure that you are getting up-to-date information
- Do not believe anyone who says that payment guarantees funding
- Always read reviews (social media, BBB, Trustpilot, SiteJabber)
- If unsure, ask a lot of questions
There are third-party sources that will greatly help for a fee, but nobody will ever ask you to pay to get government funding, only for information and help. Be careful who you deal with.
These are the 3 steps that will supercharge your business funding search. Now that you have them, what will you do?