Welcome to the UpsizeYourBusiness blog.
Our goal is to post articles of interest to local (NB, NL, NS, PEI) entrepreneurs operating businesses or for those who are thinking of starting one.
Enjoy.
Digital Boost 2.0
Digital Boost 2.0 is a program that helps New Brunswick companies start their digital journey. The program provides funding to companies wishing to work with a qualified technology provider for creating a digital strategy.
Digital Boost 2.0 will reimburse 75% of $26,600 to a maximum payout of $20,000 per company. If the digital strategy does not cost $26,600, the remaining funding may go towards your first project implementation. Click on the Digital Boost 2.0 Overview (PDF) link to learn more.
The Digital Boost 2.0 program is managed by TechImpact. Its mission is to help the Atlantic region embrace and accelerate IT adoption and innovation as the cornerstone of its economic future.
Our sponsor, Babin Després Consultants Inc., is a Qualified Technology Provider for Digital Boost 2.0. If you have any questions about Digital Boost 2.0, feel free to contact them at Upsizeyourbusiness.com.
Financial Statements
To effectively run a business, you need to become familiar with the three major financial statements of a company: the Income Statements, the Cash Flow Statement, and the Balance Sheet.
The Balance Sheet
The Balance Sheet shows the net worth of your business at a particular point in time. It shows how much is owned, how much is owed, and the amounts invested by the shareholders.
The Balance Sheet is based on the accounting equation:
Assets = Liabilities + Owners’ Equity which can also be mathematically rewritten as Owners’ Equity = Assets – Liabilities
Assets are anything a company owns with quantifiable value.
Liabilities refer to the amounts owed by a business at any one time. Liabilities are labeled as Short Term Liabilities or Long Term Liabilities. Short Term Liabilities are those that need to be paid back within a year. Long Term Liabilities are financial obligations that are due more than one year in the future.
Owners’ equity refers to the net worth of a company. It’s the amount of money that would be left if all assets were sold and all liabilities paid. This money belongs to the shareholders. so it is called ShareHolders’ Equity or Owners’ Equity.
The Income Statement
The Income Statement (also called Profit and Loss Statement) shows revenues, expenses, and profits for a particular period. It tells the lender if your business is profitable; the income statement establishes a company’s net income, which is described as total revenue minus total expenses.
The income statement shows the profit or loss over a period of time.
The Cashflow Statement
The projected Cashflow Statement shows how cash will flow inandn out of your business according to a timeline.
Useful Links
Business Name Registration
Your business name is the name you will use when signing contracts or answering the phone. Businesses wishing to operate under a business name must register with the relevant corporate Registry. Registring a business name usually requires an approved NUANS report.
You cannot just select any name. Business names must follow certain rules.For example, a business name must usually contain a distinctive element, a descriptive element, and a legal element.
| Distinctive | Descriptive | Legal |
| LeBlanc’s | Grocery Store | Inc |
| Excel | HVAC Services | Limited |
If you are incorporated, you can also usually use a coined word as long that it isn’t found in the dictionary if combined with a legal element. For example, Exxonex Inc.
The rules for business names can vary by province or whether you are incorporated or not.
Useful Links
Government of Canada – Choosing a Business Name
New Brunswick Business Name Registration
Choosing a Name in New Brunswick Guidelines for Corporate, Business & Partnership Names
Nova Scotia Business Name Registration
PEI Business Name Registration
In Newfoundland and Labrador there is no registration of trade names. Registration is only required for corporations and cooperatives.
Searching for Available Names
In most cases, if someone is already using a name, you cannot use it. It is therefore important that a proper corporate database name search be done. You should also check online to determine if someone is already using the name for their business.
Sites like Godaddy can be used to determine if the domain name is available or already owned by someone else.
https://godaddy.com
You can save time and money by doing pre-searches. To do a NUANS pre-search click on the following link. You do not have to order, just use the search interface to determine if the name is available.
You can also consult the Canada Business Registry at
https://beta.canadasbusinessregistries.ca/search
To access the New Brunsiwck provincial corporate database visit the following link.
https://www.pxw2.snb.ca/card_online/cardsearch.aspx
Evaluate Feasibility
Once you’ve found that great business idea, the next step is to evaluate its feasibility.
Starting a business requires a fair amount of effort. You don’t want to do a lot of work and spend money on something that is not feasible. So, do your homework.
A great resource on feasibility is the following YouTube video from the City of Toronto Starting Your Business 101 collection.
Self-Assessment
A good self-assessment tool helps you determine if you are ready to start a business. It determines your strengths and weaknesses in regards to the type of business you are about to start.
Before starting a business, it is a good idea to formulate why you want to create one. We recommend watching the following video.
Following is a list of self-assessment tools.
Small Business Readiness Assessment
Entrepreneur Readiness Assessment
Entrepreneurship Self-Assessment – Think you have what it takes?
Lean Business Planning
Lean Planning is an ongoing business planning process that focuses on building a business, not just writing a business plan document. It does involve documents, but they are for internal use only.
The lean approach uses a Plan-Do-Check-Adjust model.
Its primary tool is a one-page business plan.
The Informal Business Plan
When you write a formal business plan, your focus is on explaining clearly to others what you are trying to achieve and why they should invest in your business. It is an excellent tool for presenting your business idea to funding institutions and government agencies.
It is also advantageous to have a less formal document to adjust to changing conditions while managing your business. For our purpose, we will call that document the Informal Business Plan.
Think of your Informal Business Plan as a working document that evolves as you learn new things about running your business.
The informal business plan often covers the same topics as those found in the Formal Business Plan, but it is not cast in stone, it adapts as you go. In some cases, traditional business planning can be replaced with more agile methods. For more info on agile planning methods, read our blog article.
The Informal Business Plan can also be used to document what options you have, evaluate them, record decisions, identify grey areas, establish priorities, identify risks, track assumptions, and note ideas. The Informal Business Plan is a private document. It is a tool to help you think and write down your thoughts. How much time you spend on it is up to you and what value it brings to your business.
Some prefer to use a lean planning method and have a one-page business plan. To learn more about lean approaches t business planning, click on the link below.
The Formal Business Plan
A business plan is a written document that outlines your business, where it is going, how it will get there. Such a document is essential if you try to get a loan or grant from a funding institution.
Each funding institution is likely to recommend its own format for the business startup plan, but it would typically contain the following sections:
Executive Summary
Company Overview
The Business Idea
Description of Products and Services
Market Analysis
Marketing and Sales Plan
Operational Plan
HR Plan
Management Team
Technology
Financial Projections
Funding Request
Risks
Appendices
The following link from ACOA provides detailed instructions on how to create such a business plan.
ACOA – Planning for success: your guide to preparing a business and marketing plan
Wikihow.com – How to Write a Business Plan for a Small Business
Business Planning
A plan is a roadmap from where we are to where we want to go. Planning is the thought process used to create that roadmap. In the business world, we call the roadmap a business plan and the process a business plan.
Business planning is about establishing objectives and deciding in advance what must be done to achieve these objectives. It is a very important management function.
In the business world, the primary tool for planning is the business plan. There are two types of business plan . A formal business plan is used to get a loan or grant from a financial institution or government agency. There is also an informal business plan that is used to manage your business.
When you start a business from scratch, a considerable amount of planning is required. You must go from an idea to having something in place that produces results. That will not happen accidentally.
If you have time, watch the following video from the City of Toronto, Starting Your Business 101 collection.
YouTube Video – The steps of the strategic planning process in under 15 minutes
Marketing Technique – STP
A common method for defining a target market is STP, which stands for Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning. The main advantage of the STP approach is that it forces you to focus on the customer rather than on the product.
First, you divide the overall market into segments of people with common characteristics and needs. You must select a segmentation approach that fits your needs. Four common approaches are:
- geographic segmentation ( country, region, state, province, etc.)
- demographic segmentation ( age, gender, education, occupation )
- behavioral (what they buy, how often, where, how they use the product)
- psychographics (lifestyle, hobbies, activities, opinions, values )
Once you have divided your audience into different segments, you’ll assess those segments in terms of size, the likelihood of purchasing your product, profitability, and reachability. Based on your assessment, you will select one or more segments to be your target market.
Positioning is what allows you to set your product or services apart from the competition in the minds of your target audience. It is about creating, for each of your target markets, a message and a marketing mix that is most likely to appeal to that audience
Interesting STP Links
YouTube Video: What is Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning – Learn Marketing with Stories
The Complete Guide to STP Marketing: Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning
Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP) Model