Canadian Immigrants » 100 Business Start-up Ideas

How to Start a Day Care Business

admin — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 21:41:38 +0000

There has been a dramatic increase in working mothers since the last 30 years. In 2006, 73% of all Canadian women with children less than age 16 living at home were part of the employed workforce, up from 39% in 1976.

This means that more mothers are looking for help with child care in all forms, whether it is full day care, drop-in day care, after school day-care, or extended hours day-care. This led to the increase of day care centers throughout Canada.

Canada Revenue Agency provides tax relief to working parents in the form of tax deductions for child care expenses that are incurred in order to work, carry on a business or undertake certain educational activities. See IT495R3.

All these factors contribute to the demand and the rise of day care businesses throughout Canada.

For those who are interested in running a day care business, we recommend the following books:
1. The Day Care Starter Kit – This e-book provide step-by-step guide on how to run a day care business and includes 40 forms, worksheets and procedures such as:
*Childcare Agreement and Registration Forms
*Policies and Procedures
*Daycare Safety Checklist and Safety Quiz
*Emergency Authorization/Contact Information
*Medication Permission Forms
*Injury and Incident Reports
*Weekly Menus
*Payment Receipts
*Late Payment Notices
*Sample Evacuation Plan
*Child Pickup Authorization
*And over 30 more worksheets, forms, and letters!

2. Day Care Start-up Kit - is another worthwhile reference book. It includes tips on writing a business plan, a set of professionally designed Daycare Forms Series that are ready to print. These include registration forms, medications, allergies, special needs, menu planning, interview guides and more.

#18 Cat Cafe Business

admin — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 23:21:59 +0000

Starbucks coffee house originated from an idea by the founder Howard Schultz when he visited Milan Italy during a family vacation. He experienced how Europeans love visiting gourmet coffee bars as a place to visit and relax and would gladly pay a premium for their good coffee. He brought this idea to North America and in less than a decade, the idea spread throughout the USA and Canada and to all major cities around the world.

On the other side of the globe, In Asia, a different type of coffee house, themed cafes are springing up as a way of differentiating themselves from Starbucks which can now be found in all major Asian cities. One of them is a CAT CAFE. A cat cafe is a theme cafe whose attraction is cats that can be watched and played with. Patrons pay a cover fee, generally hourly, and hence cat cafes can be seen as a form of supervised indoor pet rental.

The world’s first cat cafe opened in Taiwan in 1998.The Taiwanese cat cafe, located in Taipei, eventually became famous in Japan and began to attract many Japanese tourists as well as domestic visitors. In Japan, the first cat cafe opened in Osaka in 2004.

Cat cafes are quite popular in Japan, with Tokyo being home to at least 39 cat cafes. A pioneer is Cat’s Store (猫の店 Neko no Mise?), by HANADA Norimasa, which opened in 2005. The popularity of cat cafes in Japan is attributed to many apartments forbidding pets, and to cats providing relaxing companionship in what may otherwise be a stressful and lonesome urban life; other forms of pet rental are also common in Japan.

There are various cat cafes. Some cat cafes feature specific categories of cat such as black cats, fat cats, rare breed cats or ex-stray cats. A cat cafe must obtain a license and comply with the strict requirements and regulations of the Animal Treatment/Protection Law.

Japanese cat cafes feature strict rules to ensure cleanliness and animal welfare, in particular seeking to ensure that the cats are not disturbed by excessive and unwanted attention, such as by young children or when sleeping. Many cat cafes also seek to raise awareness of cat welfare issues, such as abandoned and stray cats.

Cat cafes have now spread to Seoul, South Korea where parents can come to the cafe and relax while their children play with cats in a supervised play area.

Other themed cafes let customers offer a good library of books and magazines, play board games such as Scrabble, Chess, Monopoly, get their nails and hair done, have their fortunes read…. imagination is the limit.

Start your own Online Internet Business

admin — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 01:54:29 +0000

Three downloadable Ebooks on how to get your Internet Business running right. Simply choose from the list of three Ebooks below or choose all three.

With today’s technology and social media tools, it is never been easier to start your own online retail business. By leveraging the available resources around you, and striking up alliances with established companies, you can start an online business with very little start up capital other than your own labor.

World Wide Brands is a organization with over 8,000 verified wholesalers and dropshippers of all types of goods. Online retailers who are members of World Wide Brands have access to the entire list of wholesalers and dropshippers thereby reducing hours of research work. World Wide Brands also offers free ebooks and free articles educating and training the online retailer on how to choose a niche product line and effectively market their products online.

Thrift Stores – a recession proof business

admin — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 23:53:25 +0000

With the increasing trend in eco-friendly ideas of saving the planet, recycling, re-using and re-purposing, thrift stores are becoming viable businesses to run. In a recent newsletter, NARTS – a USA based association of used good retailers points ouut that the used goods business is one of the few recession proof segments of retailing that not only survives during economic downturns but grows and thrives during a recession.

Thrift stores can specialize in different areas. Examples are vintage clothing stores, antique collectibles, used furniture stores, used book stores, vintage jewellery stores, or used department stores that sell everything.

It is a common misconception that thrift stores are not-for-profit organizations. This is not true at all. In fact, the best know thrift store called “Value Village” is aggressively expalnding, and as of June 2008, it has a total of 215 stores (each averaging 25,000 square feet) in Canada and the USA. In September of 2010, Value Village opened the doors to their 250th outlet which represents a 16% increase in just over 2 years.

Under Value Village’s business model, the company partners with local non-profits by purchasing and reselling donated items. The non-profits collect and deliver donated goods to Value Village, which pays them for the items at a bulk rate regardless of whether they ever make it to the sales floor. Donations are also collected at stores directly, and the company makes payments to its non-profit partners when it receives goods this way. Value Village has more than 160 non-profit partners throughout the United States, Canada and Australia, which it pays more than $117 million annually.

Items deemed resellable are displayed for purchase in stores. Value Village also has a recycling program and attempts to recycle any reusable items that cannot be sold at the stores, as well as any items that do not sell over a period of time to make room for fresh merchandise. Savers has buyers for its recyclables throughout the world and attempts to keep as much donated product out of the waste stream as possible.

Find out more about How to Start a Second Hand Thrift Store.

The Smart Hanger – A Canadian Invention

admin — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:47:29 +0000

The Smart Hanger is a Canadian invention by Leigh Meadows, an entrepreneur, & creative thinker, who left England in 1995 and immigrated to Canada to marry “Andrew”.

The smart hanger idea was actually conceived by Leigh Meadows’ son, Jacob. He questioned the rationale behind throwing out wire hangers from the dry cleaners and asked two questions: “You can’t throw them away?, we’re recycling them!” and “Why don’t we make them out of paper?”. This is “The Jacob Story” behind the invention.

Thus, the Smart Hanger concept was born. Doubly smart because the story goes on. This is actually a 2-Business in one Model. Leigh Meadows conceived the idea of using the Smart Hanger as a cost effective advertising platform with print advertising using vegetable-based ink. This then allows the company to give the hangers free of costs to hotels, dry cleaners, and even retail clothing stores. The hangers come in all kinds of configurations to fit all types of clothing, ie. pants, children’s clothes, etc.

The Smart Hanger won 2nd place in the CBC Dragons Den Greenvention contest, it almost won first place because of its strong message.

Anyway, our best wishes to Leigh Meadows for her Smart Hangers, and oh yes, thanks to Jacob!

Business Idea #15 – Wedding Planning Business

admin — Tue, 18 May 2010 01:09:04 +0000

A Wedding planneris a professional who assists with planning and organization of weddings.

Weddings are thought to be a once a lifetime event and the organizers of a wedding (the couple and their families) are often willing to spend a considerable amount of money to ensure it is organized as perfectly as possible. Wedding disasters can be quite painful.

This has given rise to professional wedding planners in several countriesand communities. They attempt to ensure that the planned events occur as expected. These wedding planners take extensive certification courses and require superior business skills

Some wedding planners charge either a fraction (perhaps 5-10%) of total the wedding cost, or a flat fee. In USA and Canada the fees typically range between $1500 to $5000 depending on the services provided.

Wedding Planners are particularly helpful when planning a destination wedding as it is critical to help especially with documentation handling. It is to be taken into consideration that any country where a wedding is celebrated needs different procedures depending also on the nationality of bride and groom.

The services can include:

* Interviewing the couple and the parents to identify their needs.
* Budget preparation
* Planning detailed checklist (from about a year in advance to a few days after the wedding)
* Attendee list preparation
* Identification of event venues (hotels, wedding manor etc)
* Identifying and hiring of wedding professionals and service providers (caterers, photographers, videographers, beautician, florists, bakers etc), and preparation and execution of contracts.
* Coordination of deliveries/services on the wedding day.
* Have a back-up plan in the event of a disaster.
* Assist and prepare legal documentation and translations – especially for destination weddings

Business Idea #11 to 14 Four in One Doggie Care Business Idea

admin — Mon, 17 May 2010 03:07:29 +0000

Did you know that over one-half of Canadians have a household pet? Pets include cats, dogs, birds, hamster…. It is estimated that about one-third of Canadian households own a dog For most Canadians, their pets are like their children. The humanization of pets has triggered a consumer culture gone crazy and the pet industry is cashing in, with Canadians spending an estimated $4 billion a year on their dogs.

Statistics Canada reports that Canadian households spent an average of $541 on pet related expenses in 2008. These expenditures continue to rise by about 10 percent each year. With aging demographics and empty nesters, it is expected that the pet industry will continue to grow.

If you love pets or primarily dogs, you can easily get into the dog care business through any of the four businesses listed below. In fact, this is a four-in-one business idea, and one can mix and match the different services or offer all of them by being a one-stop doggie care business.

Dog Walking
Dogs need exercise. Dogs–particularly puppies and young dogs–have a lot of energy, and if they don’t get the chance to burn it off, destructive behavior is often the result. If you ever wonder why your dog dig holes, chew shoes, bark a lot, or pee everywhere, it is likely that your dog is not getting enough attention and exercise. Urban home dwellers and double income families face the situation where their dog is locked in the house and have no space to run and exercise. They need to be taken out for a walk.

This is where professional pet sitters come in. Professional pet sitters take dogs out for their daily walks. Some families will hire a pet sitter on a daily basis, or a few times a week, relieving the busy owner to do other work. Pet sitters are also great for vacation relief, when the owners go out of town.

Usually, pet sitters are bonded and insured, as pet owners may leave their house keys with the pet sitter while the owner goes away for holiday or business trips.

Be sure to do some research before you launch your pet sitting business. Volunteer at your local SPCA to gain more insight and get some experience working with different types of dogs.

Doggie Day Care
Another lucrative business is a doggie day care business. A Doggie day care needs lots of open indoor and outdoor play areas, as well as a back room where dogs can take a nap in toddler beds, on pillows, or couches. Take some ideas from McDonald’s children’s play area. Use a rubberized floor area to make a soft play area for canines to traipse around indoors when they play on the jungle gym.

Pet Grooming, Pet Spa and Pet Accessories
Doggie Day care businesses can also simply add a pet boutique which features different types of accessories and pampering goodies for pets including leather or customized dog collars, sweaters, life jackets, raincoats, toys, pearl necklaces and tiaras as well as treats such as healthy cookies, organic pet foods or rawhides. The spa for dogs features baths, haircuts and body massages.

Dog Training or Obedience School
Dogs are social animals and without proper training, they will behave like animals. They will soil your house, destroy your belongings, bark excessively, dig holes in your yard, fight other dogs and even bite you. Nearly all behavior problems are perfectly normal canine activities that occur at the wrong time or place or are directed at the wrong thing. Obedience Training is one of the best things an owner can do for his/her dog or puppy. Obedience training doesn’t solve all behavior problems, but it is the foundation for solving just about any problem. Training opens up a line of communication between the owner and his/her dog. Effective communication is necessary to instruct a dog about what the owner wants it to do with common instructions like SIT, STAY, GO.

Useful references:
Starting your own Doggie Daycare and Dog Recipes
Doggie Day Care and Pet Sitting Ebooks
Dog Training Home Study Course
How to House Train and Potty Train Any Dog

Business Idea #10 Foreign Student Recruitment & ESL Tutoring

admin — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 23:14:37 +0000

International students contribute about $6.5 billion annually to the Canadian economy through
the tuition they pay, living expenses, travel and family members who come to visit.

Canada has 5% of the total international student market, falling behind Australia at 10% and the USA at 21%.

Instead of shipping logs to Japan or mining ore to Indonesia, Canada can choose to promote higher education as asource of revenue. The South Koreans already spend more money on Canadian education than Canadians spend on South Korean cars.

Career colleges and ESL Schools pay generally a 10% finders fee for foreign student recruiters. To do this business, negotiations will need to be made with the local schools and alliances established in the foreign countries to attract students.

International students coming to Canada need English proficiency minimum score of 550. Many foreign students come to Canada to work on the Toefl score prior to higher education. ESL tutoring is therefore another potential business startup idea.

Business Idea #9 Home Stay Business or Agency

admin — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 22:27:39 +0000

Every year, tens of thousands of international students and travelers from around the world are going abroad to study and learn other languages and cultures up close. And with them, they bring economic spin-offs to local economies. Homestay is the type of accommodation most commonly sought after by International Guests. The demand for homestay rooms often outweighs the homestays available.

A “Homestay host” is someone who rents out spare room or rooms in their home. Homestay is a great home-based business that enables Canadians to make extra income. Renting out those spare bedrooms can be profitable and rewarding if managed properly.

A Homestay business can be a part-time or full-time job depending on the number of rooms for rent, and range of services offered. The Homestay business include providing a room, 3 meals, and can also offer additional services such as ESL lessons, cultural tours, airport transfers, orientation tours.

An entrepeneur can choose to run a homestay business or be a homestay agency, which coordinates host families and students for a fee.

International recruitment is a high priority at most Canadian post-secondary institutions as a mechanism to generate revenue and create diversity on campus. As a result the number of international students choosing to obtain higher education in Canada is steadily increasing. More than 130,000 students come to study in Canada every year and even more come to Canada to learn English or French. These numbers include both secondary and post-secondary education. In the 2004-2005 academic year, 72, 500 international students attended Canadian universities. According to the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) approximately 30, 000 international students graduate from post secondary institutions every year.

Homestay Programs provides students from all over the world, the opportunity to improve their English, experience Canadian Culture, meet wonderful new people and build friendships that can last a lifetime. This is also their chance to experience Canadian life.

Interesting Links
Vancouver Homestay Directory

Business Idea #8 Virtual Assistant Business

admin — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 03:17:33 +0000

Here is a business that is actually thriving on recession. Many businesses big and small no longer has a full time receptionist or administrator. Outsourcing has become a trend in an effort to reduce office overhead expenses. As a result, the virtual assistant is an option for many businesses.

A Virtual Assistant (typically abbreviated to VA, also called a virtual office assistant) is an entrepreneur who provides professional administrative, technical, or creative (social) assistance to clients from a home office. With a full range of options to choose from, you can customize your remote receptionist service to meet your exact needs. Your calls can be screened, announced and seamlessly connected to you or your employees anywhere . They usually work for other small businesses, brokers and consultancy groups. It is estimated that there are as few as 5,000-8,000 or as many as 35,000 Virtual Assistants worldwide; the profession is growing in centralized economies with “fly-in, fly-out” staffing practices.

Common modes of communication and data delivery include the Internet, e-mail and phonecall conferences, online work spaces, and fax machine. Professionals in this business work on a contractual basis and a long-lasting cooperation is standard. Typically 5 years of administrative experience in an office is expected at such positions as executive assistant, office manager/supervisor, secretary, legal assistant, paralegal, legal secretary, real estate assistant, information technology, et cetera.

A virtual assistant business can be a stand-alone business or be a service offering along with shared office suites.

Business Idea #7 Making Sweet Snacks

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:50:00 +0000

From the beginning of time, sweets are always a treat to humans. Cavemen were the first to enjoy a sweet treat, when they discovered honey in beehives. Recorded history has traced candy back 3,500 years to Egyptian times. During the Middle Ages, only the wealthy can afford sugar candy, due to the high cost of sugar. Yet no matter their budget, consumers will find a way to afford their favorite confection or sweet snacks.

Today in North America, due to the diversity in demographics resulting from increased immigration from foreign countries, there are new varieties of sweets that are being introduced to the general population. Examples of such snacks include coconut cookies, baklavas, bubble tea, fancy cupcakes, candies, exotic pies and pastries.

Confectionery industry companies fill a niche market, but a very lucrative one. A confectionery may sell a small amount of a large variety of sweets while others specialize in a particular product. A chocolate confectionery practically sells itself. A candy confectionery may specialize in hard candy, taffy, caramel or other non-chocolate candies. Some confectioneries may specialize in pastries or ice cream.

Before deciding on the direction your confectionery company will take, study confectionery news and trends. Learn how governmental regulations dictate how you must operate your business. Learn the availability and costs of your raw materials. Find confectionery supplies and confectionery wholesalers. Study what other confectionery companies make or sell to avoid oversaturating a market. Find out new machineries and equipment that can save time and labor.

Join an industry association to keep up on confectionery news and trends. These associations watch developments in technology, manufacturing, regulation and other areas that impact how a confectionery does business. Take advantage of the contacts that these industries have already made to get your news.

The American Association of Candy Technologists
Confection Manufacturers Association of Canada

Business Idea #6 – Home-based gift basket service

admin — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 18:23:50 +0000

A home-based gift basket service is a low-cost start-up business. The most important ingredients necessary to run this business are: creativity, imagination, and organization.

Gift baskets can be customized to fit the individual or corporate gift recipient. It can range from something very inexpensive to something extravagant.

Many gift basket services specialize in a niche market. Examples are: Gourmet food gift baskets, books gift baskets, wine and cheese gift baskets, naughty lingerie gift baskets, spa gift baskets, baby shower gift baskets, thanksgiving gift baskets, Easter gift baskets, Christmas Gift baskets, Wedding gift baskets, Mother’s Day gift baskets, Father’s Day gift baskets, Valentine Day gift baskets, chocolate gift baskets, the list goes on and on……

Your revenue will be limited only by how hard you want to work and how much you want your business to grow. You can easily gross $10,000 or more annually working part time from home, or $1 million and up operating a retail store or mail order business full time.

Related Articles:
How to Start a Gift Basket Service

Business Idea #5 – Bed and Breakfast Inn

admin — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 17:28:09 +0000

If you have an extra bedroom, a large home or extra space in your home, you have the necessary beginnings to start making extra income as a Bed and Breakfast Inn. All it takes is a spare bedroom, a flair for cooking, an outgoing personality and a true enjoyment of tending to the comforts of others — and you could be happy and successful with a bed and breakfast inn business.

Basically, bed and breakfast is a transplant of European hospitality, adapted and refined to the American way of doing things. This growing trend services a type of customer who travels but wants a change of pace from the traditional hotel stay. It might be the corporate traveler, who may prefer the bed and breakfast inn to a hotel when it is convenient to their destination. For leisure travelers, the bed and breakfast inn may be the destination in and of itself when located near a popular or desirable vacation spot.

There are regulatory requirements to consider when operating a bed and breakfast business. Whether choosing a business name, registering for provincial and federal tax, insurance, health regulations, you can find basic information to get you started by reading this free bed and breakfast guide provided by small business BC.

How to Start a Bed and Breakfast Business

Business Idea #4 – Dating Coach Service

admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 02:23:31 +0000

Dating coaches offer a wide range of services, such as electronic books and newsletters, personal coaching, small group seminars, and weekend workshops. One-on-one coaching can involve counselling and in-the-field coaching, which can involve practicing flirting, or going out with a coach of the opposite sex on a mock date and being critiqued throughout the date. They teach pickup lines, how to conduct better conversations, how to dress, how to hug appropriately, and anything else that may help achieve success in dating. Common elements of dating coaches’ tips include the need to decide what you are looking for and remain positive.

Some dating coaches specialize in helping with online dating. This could include helping people rewrite their online profiles to obtain better results, start initial email conversations, get professional photo shoots, and so on.

If you are good in understanding human behaviour, enjoys working with people and has a successful love life, you may be an ideal dating coach.

Business Idea #3 – A Mobile Chair Massage Service

admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 01:10:26 +0000

Massage technicians can practice everywhere at the convenience of their clients. At the airport, spa salon, hotels, golf tournaments, retreat centers. Work stress has increased the demand for all types of massage that can soothe the nerves and comfort the soul.

The Mobile Chair Massage Service can provide corporate and event massage service at the client’s workplace or event.

Corporate Events can include Employees or Client Appreciation Days; sales meetings, company barbeques or picnics, seminars, golf tournaments, trade shows, conventions and conferences or even fundraisers.