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You’re here because you’re thinking of starting a business but you may not be sure where to start. You’re excited about your idea. You can’t wait to get it up and running but as soon as you start diving into the internet to do some start-up research, the information overload becomes overwhelming, and you end up throwing your hands up in frustration.
Or maybe you move forward with opening your business, only to have the pressures that come with a business feel crippling some days.
If this is you, you’re definitely not alone. Starting or expanding a business can be incredibly overwhelming. This is where a business advisor can step in and be your guide. Someone to give you advice and ease the pressure of not knowing ‘what comes next.’
But first, let’s start with what a business advisor actually is.
Your mind might automatically jump to a vision of a person behind a desk at a financial institution who is going to tell you whether you can or cannot have funds to support your new business. The process with this person feels formal and intimidating.
Where this is definitely a version of a business advisor, it’s not the version of a business advisor you get within the Small Business Centres of Ontario. Our network of advisors are a little different than your traditional vision.
Our business advisors are trained professionals that are ready to help you launch your new business, teach you how to build it with a solid foundation so it can grow and thrive in our new, challenging business environment.
They’ll be there to give you customized advice on business planning, funding, marketing and more. They can also connect you with the perfect community partner you never knew you needed. And finally, they’ll create events tailored to your small business needs, where you can come to learn and network with your peers.
But if all of that doesn’t convince you that our business advisors need to be a part of your planning team, then we’ve got five reasons that will dive a little deeper into what you get when you work with our advisors.
- Entrepreneurship Experience
All of our advisors have been trained to be able to offer you focused small business entrepreneurship advice. Add to that, many of our advisors have hands on entrepreneurship experience with both brick and mortar and digital businesses and services. This first-hand knowledge of a shared experience means you can get guidance that is rooted in experience that often feels like a mentor/mentee scenario. Our advisors are always ready to share their knowledge with you so you can learn from them. - Our Business Advisory Services Are Free
Our business advisory services are funded by the Province of Ontario, as well as supported by local municipalities and private enterprises. This means that you don’t have to pay for our core consulting services which in turn, puts more money in back in your pockets. - Connections
The businesses advisors that you work with inside the Small Business Centres of Ontario are not working alone. In fact, our business advisors can connect you to numerous public and private partners who can help you grow your business by helping you obtain funding, hire employees, organize your systems and create lasting mentorship opportunities just to name a few. As you grow, these connections will often prove invaluable as well as saving the time it would have taken you to find them on your own. - Project Funding Opportunities
Our government partners have created multiple grant opportunities for our small business owners to take advantage of. There’s no better place to learn more about these than directly from your business advisor. We operate grants that help start-ups, student entrepreneurs and existing businesses looking for new and exciting growth opportunities. - Resources
Your business advisory team have access to a resource pool that they can streamline and customize for your business so you don’t have to spend time sifting through the internet trying to find the right information and often getting tripped up on the wrong information. This website is in fact, one of our greatest resources. Inside of this space you’ll find information on relief funding, e-learning platforms and success stories to inspire you along your journey to entrepreneurship.
So, you see, you don’t have to travel down the pathway of building your business alone. There is a network of business advisors ready to help you make critical decisions, bounce ideas off of or help you achieve your funding goals. Click the button below to find your local Small Business Centre and get started with a FREE one-on-one advisory session today.
