Starting a new business

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Business Counseling

Enterprise South East is the first stop, and one-stop shop, for potential, new, and existing entrepreneurs in the South East region. Our services are free of charge, bilingual and strictly confidential. The team at Enterprise South East wants to meet you regarding your business project and to discuss government assistance programs.

ESE will guide you through the planning stage of your business. We will discuss the importance of a business plan and why you need one.

Business Tools

During the consultation, ESE will guide you through the following business tools:

Resources

Accessing resources to start you business will be fundamental. Canada Business is one of our partners that will provide your business with the resources it needs to grow and prosper, including a wide range of information on government services, business plan templates, programs and regulations as well as a guide on starting a business.

Why do you need a business plan?

A business plan is a valuable tool that provides both a reality check and framework for starting or expanding a business. It will provide you with direction, information, and answers. By developing a business plan, you will learn more about your business idea (including your target market, industry, and competitors), as well as your financial, operational, and management needs. It will help you assess the viability of your idea or project. Through this planning exercise, you will also develop a marketing strategy and set goals and objectives. You will also learn more about the opportunities and challenges that could impact your business idea.

Business plans are not just application forms that you submit to the bank or other organizations in order to get financing for your business. While financial lenders use the business plan to help evaluate your loan application, you — the entrepreneur — will benefit in many ways from developing a business plan.

A business plan will:

Help you assess whether or not your business idea is viable. You may have a great idea for a business, but how profitable or feasible is your business idea?
Help you to be focused and be a better decision-maker.
Help you assess your management skills and identify areas where you need to improve or need assistance with (for example, you may determine you need to hire a bookkeeper).
Identify potential risks or threats that affect your business (e.g., industry challenges, competition, market size, etc.). By identifying potential barriers to success, you will be able to pro-actively identify solutions to avoid these problems or minimize the risk if these problems cannot be avoided.
Help you to set and achieve goals and objectives (both short- and long-term). You can also measure the progress of your business by comparing your company's actual performance to the projections and goals you set in the business plan.
Help you determine your business needs (e.g., personnel, working capital, equipment, renovations, etc.) and your financial requirements.
Another way of understanding the importance of business planning is to look at reasons why businesses fail.