You will likely have questions about:

• Business registration
• Taxes and remittances
• Licences, permits and business numbers
• Accounting and bookkeeping
• Insurance
• Available funding or financing
• Marketing
• And more.

The good news is you've come to the right place. The Leeds and Grenville Small Business Enterprise Centre can guide you through this process and answer all your questions.

Create a Business Plan

One of the first steps in opening a business is creating your business plan. A business plan is the "road map" to where you expect to go and how you expect to get there.

A business plan is a business owner's most valuable tool. It assembles all your thoughts and ideas and facilitates a clear business direction. It serves as the basis for the plan you will eventually take to your financial institution and possibly investors.

By developing your business plan, you will become better prepared; you may not have thought of all possibilities or even opportunities. Taking the time necessary to create this document may seem like a waist of time now (because you just want to get going!), but trust this advice - it will be the best thing you ever did! You will find yourself referring back to it for all your questions and direction. You will also begin to define you goals, objectives and targets.

To obtain a free business plan template, visit the Interactive Business Planner .

The key topics and sections of a business plan may include:

• Business Definition
• Market Analysis
• Market Strategy
• Product Performance and Potential
• Operations
• Management: Strengths and Weaknesses
• Financial Statements

Your Business Plan is a Living Document

Your business plan will become a living document within your organization. It will shift and change as your business grows. You will need to update it according to the changes you will experience within your business. In your business plan, you will address customer requirements, suppliers, stakeholders and economic conditions. The business plan helps you to demonstrate competence and meet your goals and objectives.

You're an Entrepreneur!

There are certain traits and attitudes that make some people more suited to running a successful small business than others.

In one study where entrepreneurs were given a list of attributes and asked to rate their importance for success (William E. Jennings, "A Profile of the Entrepreneur" in Entrepreneurship: A Primer for Canadians), the seven most highly ranked qualities were as follows:

• Perseverance
• The desire and willingness to take the initiative
• Competitiveness
• Self-reliance
• A strong need to achieve
• Self-confidence
• Good physical health

These traits are not surprising for entrepreneurs; you'd expect a person who was a successful entrepreneur to be self-reliant and self-confident. Interesting enough, the same group of entrepreneurs all ranked the following (at the bottom of their lists) as least necessary for success:

• A strong desire for money
• Patience
• Being well organized
• Having a need for power

Embrace your decision, explore opportunities and start off on the right foot!

The Leeds and Grenville Small Business Enterprise Centre is here to help you with the process of opening a new business. We can help you "Jump start your small business!" Contact us today, and make an appointment. Our services are offered at no charge, they include:

• business registrations
• business consulting
• follow up mentoring
• business plan assistance
• financial documentation
• self help manuals
• use of on-line terminals

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started." -Sally Berger-

Contact us for more information.