As July 1 is a national holiday, I imagine most Canadians won’t want today to be too concerned about business matters.
But for those who are thinking about starting a business from home, or who have already made the move, a good place to start for some advice and ideas on home-based business is provided by the Canadian Government site Canadian Business.
I have to say I found the advice a bit lagging behind what is possible in a Web 2.0 world and I would suggest that some of the advice needs to be brought up to date. For example,
Have business cards, stationery, brochures, etc., printed by professionals. A polished, professional look is particularly important for home-operated businesses.
Well, yes, but say your business is wholely or largely online, you are going to be stuck with a design and printing bill for stationery you might use never or hardly at all. I’m all in favour of good design and a professional presence, but you need to know you are going to use the materials you arrange to have designed and printed.
Planning however is essential. The government site advises:
Do a complete business plan, including financial planning, before beginning.
Great advice. But just remember, if you have an offer of some business straight away – as can happen when someone who respects your capability knows you are now going to be in business – I think it would be a dumb idea to say “Sorry, I can’t do that because I haven’t done my complete business plan, including financial planning…”. My suggestion is to not take the government advice too literally: do the project, collect the dosh, then settle down and do some serious planning, with financial projections, SWOT analysis and all the rest.
Anyway, the point of this post was really to send Canada Day greetings to all the Canadian readers of this blog – and over the years that has been a significant proportion of the readers and subscribers.
We appreciate you!
PS: if you want to, you can see a picture of me in “happy Canada Day” garb today of my new t-shirt and cap from Vancouver
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Whoop! 4 Canada Day
Good post though
I think thats what most buisness lack
The look so cheap and unoriginal that
they just turn me off and thats why a lot of
business fail after 2 years. Its about a good plan
that you stick to and a sharp look