Small Business Northern Ontario

Government Grants for Small Business

2010-09-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

Start here;

Ontario Business Program Guide

The Ontario Business Program Guide is your resource to government-funded programs and services for Ontario businesses. The website will keep Ontarians informed of program developments available in the following categories.

• Advice and Consultation
• Cultural Development
• Education and Training
• Energy Incentives
• Entrepreneurship
• Export
• Financing
• Human Resources and Training
• Northern Ontario
• Research and Development
• Tax Credits
• Youth

You will find the Ontario Network of Enterprise Centre’s under the Advice and Consultation (15) heading and following this link Small Business Enterprise Centres (Ontario).

Visit us anytime or search or website for help with your business planning needs.

Financing and Government Grants for your Small Business

2010-08-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

Inherently when an entrepreneur enters our office, financing and grants are of particular interest to them. We will often direct them to the business planning tools that are available on our website; introduce them the reference library available at our office and the other services we provide at The Business Centre. Whether from a bank or government body the business plan is a must, more on that in another entry.

Financing a Start-up Business

Questions:

• How much money is required?
• How much of your own money do you have for this business?
• Do you already own any of the assets needed to start this business?
• Do you have family, friends, acquaintances, or others who are willing and able to invest in this business?
• Do you have a strong personal credit rating or lines of credit available?

Equity Investment

Equity means ownership. Equity investment includes any money from individuals, including yourself, or other companies in your business. This money may be from personal savings, inheritance, personal loans, friends or relatives, business partners, or stockholders. These funds are not secured on any of your business assets. The more equity in a venture the less of a business risk exists and the more likely a bank will be willing to lend the venture additional funds.

Debt Financing

1. Government Funding

Typically, the most sought-after type of financing is government grants because it’s free money that you don't have to pay back. Unfortunately, a grant might not be an option for your business because not only are there very few grants available, most are geared towards specific industries or groups of people such as youth, women, or new business. Be careful of on-line businesses offering to sell you lists of government grants. In Northern Ontario there are a few options that we can help clients apply to.

2. Commercial Loans

• Long-term loans. Use long-term loans for larger expenses or for fixed assets that you expect to use for more than one year, such as property, buildings, vehicles, machinery, and equipment. These loans are generally secured by new assets, other unencumbered physical business assets, and/or additional stakeholder funds or personal guarantees.

• Short-term loans. Short-term loans are usually for a one-year term or less, and can include revolving lines of credit or credit cards. These are generally used to finance day-to-day expenses such as inventory, payroll, and unexpected or emergency items, and can be subject to a higher base interest rate.

I have touched on a few important aspects of financing here today. Please feel free to contact The Business Centre or myself should you have any other questions.

All the best,

Tony

Small Business Ontario - blog

2010-08-21T18:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my first blog attempt. Well actually this is my second post, I did not use spell check on my first as some of you may have noticed.

Please bare with me as I attempt something new. First a little about me. My name is Tony Cerasia. I am the manager of The Business Centre Nipissing Parry Sound (TBC). I bring many years of finance, accounting, marketing and human resource experience to my role with the centre. At TBC we are partnered with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, The City of North Bay and the Ministry of Northern Development Mines and Forestry, along with a number of local professional organizations. We are an independent not-for-profit that is a part of the Ontario Small Business Enterprise Centres network and we are here to help local entrepreneurs get their businesses started or to expand their existing businesses. How do we do this? We offer free, yes I said it, free consulting services to help entrepreneurs develop their business plans, apply for governement or bank financing or work on their marketing plans. We are able to draw on the expertise of our small business consultants, or recently graduated business interns, our partners as well as our province wide network to aid entrepreneurs in their development and growth of their businesses.

If you asked me just a year or two ago if I would join the blogging world I would have said no way. Well I guess my grandmother was right when she told me never say never, cause you never know what is around the corner. This blog will be updated weekly with hopefully some helpful lists and tips on how to get your business started, FAQ's, and insight from our daily client visits and grant application process.

Please stay tuned for updates.

all the best,
tony
http://www.thebusinesscentre-nps.com/

Small Business Ontario - blog

2010-08-21T16:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my first blog attempt.

Please bare with me as I attempt something new. First a little about me. My name is Tony Cerasia. I am the manager of The Business Centre Nipissing Parry Sound. We are partnered with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, The City of North Bay and the Ministry of Northern Development Mines and Forestry, along with a number of local professional organizations. We are an independent not-for-profit that is a part of the Ontario Small Business Enterprise Centres network and we are here to help local entrepreneurs get their businesses started or to expand their existing businesses. How do we do this? We offer free, yes I said it, free consulting services to help entrepreneurs develop their business plans, apply for governement or bank financing or work on their marketing plans. We are able to draw on the expertise of our small business consultants, or recently graduated business interns, our partners as well as our province wide network to aid entrepreneurs in their development and growth of their businesses.

If you asked me just a year or two ago if I would join the blogging world I would have said no way. Well I guess my grandmother was right when she told me never say never, cause you never know what is around the corner. This blog will be updated weekly with hopefully some helpful lists and tips on how to get your business started, FAQ's, and insight from our daily client visits and grant application process.

Please stay tuned for updates.

all the best,

tony