Sprouting Up!

I couldn’t have asked for a better day as I prepare to attend my first-ever networking event as a business owner.

First, some context:

My client base is growing exponentially, which is great, but the cash flow is a little slow to catch up. I can handle this for now because I know that in a few months, my partner and I will smile as we think about the months we revisited what we lovingly refer to as “the poverty diet.” However, like a snake trying to eat its own tail, it’s difficult to attend pay-to-play networking events in an attempt to drum up new business if you can’t afford to go. You need clients in order to make money, in order to afford these networking events, in order to connect with potential clients. It’s a vicious cycle! I absolutely understand the concept of this model (especially when it comes to accountability within support networks), but at the moment, it’s just not feasible for me.

Thankfully, the folks at Sprouter understand this conundrum and have been holding their Sprout Up events for a couple of years now…and I’m finally ready to attend. I’ve got business cards in hand, two awesome friends in tow (@crickhopper and @mabelsyntax) and am super excited to finally get to meet Twitter acquaintances that I’ve been following for years.

Now, here’s how my day went:

I took the train to Pickering to meet an old friend who has recently started his own landscaping and ecological restoration company, Green Side Up. It was a 40-minute train ride each way and our meeting lasted about half an hour while sitting in his work truck eating gyros, yet it was one of the best meetings I’ve had to date. We discussed how he operates, how he finds new business and how being part of his local BNI chapter has had an immense impact on his client base and professional network. He shared a few tidbits of businessing expertise that he’s picked up along the way, invited me to be his guest at his chapter’s breakfast next week, then he dropped me back off at the train station. Talk about a whirlwind of wonder!

Settling into the GO train, I pulled out my copy of Rules for Renegades and continued reading about all the awesomeness that can be achieved if we open ourselves up to the possibilities and follow up on every opportunity we cross paths with.

I am feeling so great about things right now, and I’ve only just begun. More details to come!

The Canadian Youth Business Foundation

Well, I hope someone will explain to me that I’m just slow…

It clearly states here and here that you do things in this order:

1) Contact a local office for the access code.

2) Register as a new entrepreneur using said access code.

3) Among the many perks of registration, you can use their “Interactive Business Planner” to help you start your business plan.

So I contacted them for the access code, but was told that before they could give it to me, I had to present them with my completed business plan. Uhm, sorry…what? I asked for clarification, citing a link to these instructions, and got this response:

“You will need to have a business plan completed before we can proceed with the access code. All Community Partners request confirmation that a business plan has been prepared (in draft at the very least) before the access code can be provided. The Community Partners offer pre-launch coaching and business plan review but do not offer business plan creation as part of the CYBF application process.”

I responded again, asking for further clarification, and this time copied and pasted in the steps:

A screenshot of the CYBF site.

I am still waiting to hear back.

Have I misunderstood the instructions? I’ve written business plans for clients before, and am confident that I can do it for my own business as well without this tool. It’s just the principle of the thing. Don’t offer something that you can’t deliver! Update/amend your site! How many new business owners must waste time and energy on this?

UPDATE:

Apparently, you have to mention that you want to use their Interactive Business Planner when requesting the code (never mind that I referenced and provided links to their own web site TWICE).  I finally received the code, with the message, “I did not realize that you wanted to use the Interactive Business Planner.”

Does that somehow change the meaning of the registration instructions on your site?  Either way, you should not be asking for a business plan before giving out the registration code; merely reminding new members that they need to have one completed before applying for the loan itself.

/rant

…and so it begins.

I was going to wait to launch this blog until I had something I thought was valuable enough to post. After waiting and waiting (and waiting), I realized my story about starting this business probably is valuable to some folks. So here I am, writing from the depths of my research on how to register (and successfully launch) a business. I will not sugarcoat this journey, nor will I attempt to disguise my complete ignorance to the business world. I am learning as I go. I hope it amuses, enlightens and endears me to you.

Here we go…

Canada Revenue

I spoke with a kind, brassy lady at the CRA who told me that as long as I’m not going to make $30,000 or more in 12 months, I don’t need to register for an HST number. While there is a fine if I make more than $30,000 and don’t get a number, all I have to do is keep track of my gross income (before expenses) and let them know if it’s approaching the $30,000 mark before 12 months are up. At that time, they’ll issue me an HST registration number and I’ll have to start charging my clients that 13% (sorry, clients!).

Of course, I still have to pay HST on my expenses, and it’s reconciled with HST owing from my sales at the end of the year. This is a whole other thing I don’t have a very good grasp on yet (in terms of how it all works out based on my not having to charge HST), so please stay tuned for more info if you’re as curious as I am.

ServiceOntario

I remember reading somewhere that if you’re running the business as your own name (as I am), you don’t have to register the business at all (unless you get to the point where you’re earning more than $30,000 in 12 months – see reasoning above). However, according to ServiceOntario’s BizPal permit and registration search tool, I do require a Master Business Licence. The tool asks you a series of questions to generate a basic idea of the nature of your business, then makes recommendations based on that general profile.

The licence itself seems easy enough to obtain, but I’m curious as to whether or not I really do require it, since the search tool didn’t include a question about whether or not I’d be using my own name as the business name. Looks like I’ll be calling the Business and Personal Property Security Office tomorrow. It’s so sad that the $60 registration fee is my only obstacle at this point. Why did I decide to do this with no safety net of savings? Oh, right – I don’t have any office bureaucracy slowing me down, and I’m accountable only to my awesome clients.