Mississauga Business Entrepreneur Center - MBEC
Table of Contents
Abstract
This case study is about the initiatives that the Mississauga Business Entrepreneur Center (MBEC) took alongside Verve Videos to explain the process of starting a business. MBEC is the top-rated guidance and assistance center for startup businesses in Mississauga, on account of the staff being specialists in their fields.
The Starter Company PLUS program will aid citizens aged 18 years and above looking to start, broaden, or acquire a business in Mississauga. MBEC is in charge of delivering the program in the Mississauga area. MBEC works in collaboration with IDEA Mississauga to provide entrepreneurs with the best possible experience, but MBEC carries out its own projects.
Mississauga is on the road to becoming one of the major cities in the world in terms of business development, and is currently home to more than 800,000 people from around the globe and almost 100,000 businesses of all kinds and sizes. This being said, it is challenging to grow and shine amongst the wide diversity of competitors, especially in a city that is in the midst of its blooming stage. This is where animated explainer videos come in to save the day.
As Mississauga, the sixth largest city in Canada, continues to evolve, MBEC’s initiative’s purpose was to highlight the steps of developing a business either from the ground up or to help entrepreneurs take the correct next step in growing their business.
This was done through a collaboration between Mississauga’s MBEC and Verve Videos; we helped MBEC voice their guidance through a series of 10 animated explainer videos that detailed said steps in an easily-digestible and interactive way.
Investing in people is the key to our success. In order to remain competitive, we must prepare our workforce for the jobs of tomorrow while properly matching business with talent.
Introduction to Mississauga’s Business Life
The inventive business sector in Mississauga has no limitations. It fosters creativity by connecting creative minds together to exchange information, projects, thoughts, skills, and experiences in the name of collaboration. It’s no wonder, though, that Mississauga has been frequently honored globally for its continual investment in people, long-term prosperity, and financial prosperity.
There’s a rationale behind why so many unique businesses have chosen Mississauga as their home base and joined the city’s network of creative minds, inventors, and entrepreneurs.
Mississauga would collaborate closely with its allies to build an innovative environment so that the City is not just a site where innovators may generate great ideas, but also a site where they can translate their ideas to fruition.
Mississauga Business Entrepreneur Center and Verve Videos
With all the aforementioned concepts in mind and by holding on to the hope and promise of a better tomorrow for Mississauga business owners and entrepreneurs of all genders, races, religions, and backgrounds, MBEC has collaborated with Verve Videos – us, hello! – to create a series of animated explainer videos to help new businesses through their journey to growth and prosperity in the city that many call home.
The series of 10 videos was created and they encompass several important notions and steps that an entrepreneur must take to reach the best possible outcome for their business.
Without further ado, here’s what the hype is all about:
Choose the Right Business Idea
Who hasn’t contemplated the idea of starting their own business? People of all ages often think of bringing their business ideas to life, but not many actually accomplish their dreams. This is because they either don’t have the resources to launch their business, don’t know where to start, or aren’t sure if their business will be profitable – no one wants to lose money when investing in a business.
Since this is a common occurrence that causes anxiety, Mississauga Business Entrepreneur Center decided to highlight the first important step when a person’s business is still a concept taking up space from their minds.
The first explainer video we produced for MBEC’s initiative guides entrepreneurs-to-be through the first step in starting a business, whether in Mississauga or elsewhere.
First, one must think and research the uniqueness of their business idea – this is important because standing out from a crowd of similar businesses is more tricky than one might think.
The Mississauga Business Entrepreneur Center proposes asking 4 questions:
1
Is my idea original or am I “copying” or basing it on an existing concept or business?
2
Is there a demand for my product or service? In other words, is there an audience I can clearly target with my business idea?
3
Does my business idea provide a solution to a problem that people in my entourage face or struggle with?
4
How can I improve my business idea and strengthen my plan?
After drafting (hypothetical) answers to these questions, market research should be conducted to verify those claims and know what modifications to make either to the business as a whole or to certain aspects of it.
Remember, perfection is a myth and no idea is immaculate from the start. It’s completely normal – and actually quite important – to go over a concept time and time again if you want your idea to meet your expectations or even surpass them.
Conduct Market Research
Before diving into the content of our and MBEC’s second video, what exactly is meant by “market research?”
Market research is the task of obtaining information regarding your target audience in order to validate the performance of a new brand, assist your team in iterating on an existing model, or comprehend brand image in order to guarantee that your team is efficiently expressing your company’s philosophy.
Market research could provide answers to a variety of inquiries concerning the state of a sector, and it explores a variety of market segments.
Painting a realistic image of the business world in Mississauga or anywhere else might take weeks or months, but you would make reasonable judgment verdicts based on your industry knowledge and existing consumers.
Nevertheless, bear in mind that market research has advantages that go beyond those tactics. There are two considerations to keep in mind:
For more information on what market research is, check out this article by HubSpot.
1
Your competitors have experience in the industry as well as a client base
2
Your clients do not portray the views of the entire market
If, for example, you’re planning on opening a lemonade stand in Mississauga, as the example in the video series is, then you would search for “lemonade stands in Mississauga” and consult as many sources as possible to understand what the needs of your target audience are.
Next, you should ask yourself this: “does my business idea have potential or should I try exploring a different venture?”
If the answer is yes, your idea has potential, then you can hop onto the next step, which is understanding the government’s regulations for starting a new business and the licenses you will need.
However, if your market research expedites negative results, know that you could always try something else! The world is your oyster, especially in Mississauga’s business and family-oriented environment.
Understand Government Regulations and Licenses
Government regulations, by default, are regulations that must be complied with to avoid facing repercussions. They may appear burdensome to small company owners at times, but there are perks as well.
Regulation can occasionally result in the formation of new sectors to assist other firms in remaining compliant. They are frequently used to protect firms in difficult economic times. Furthermore, in both highs and lows, they provide help in the form of subsidized loans, documentation, and assistance.
Government enacts laws that touch practically every element of business life, and authorities have the right to enact those laws via regulatory oversight. To know more about these regulations and licenses in the City of Mississauga, check out this article published by IDEA Mississauga, an official partner to MBEC.
Now, Mississauga Business Entrepreneur Center and Verve Videos’ third order of business, pun intended.
The video entices entrepreneurs from Mississauga to seek out and understand the city’s regulations that apply to each industry and what licenses they need to be able to successfully launch and run a business without complications.
The next step is creating a checklist to keep your official needs at the forefront of your business plan:
1
Business license
2
Provincial regulations
3
Tax registration
4
Store compliance
Once this step is complete, it is time to determine your staffing requirements. The aforementioned step could be challenging to follow, especially if you’re a startup business, so check out MBEC’s resources and contact them for guidance.
Determine Your Business Staffing Requirements
Staffing is an important factor to consider, whether you own a small or large Mississauga business. When a projection is prepared, labor management relates to the requirement criteria to determine the number of labor hours needed to satisfy the predicted value’s needs.
Staff requirements compute the needs for a field of employment or job code for a job-hours description, regardless of whether your company is family-operated or employee-based.
As per our and MBEC’s video, you will need to determine what skills you or your prospective employees should have or work on improving, as well as the talent available to help you maximize your growth and eventually profit margins – this is applicable for both, startup, family-owned businesses and established, employee-based ones.
This step cannot be done without first fulfilling what was mentioned in the previous step, i.e. understanding Mississauga’s provincial or governmental regulations and licenses.
This is because the 4th step entails knowing labor regulations, payroll, reporting, and any governmental or provincial funding requirements.
You could of course start on your own before including other people in your team, but this step is important regardless of where you are in your process of determining (existing or potential) staffing.
Choose your Business Location
Choosing the right business location in Mississauga is among the most essential facets of starting up a business, particularly if you’re setting up a small shop or F&B operation — choosing the perfect location means everything. This could influence foot traffic, the business climate, and even the long-term viability of your brand.
Finding the right location for your business entails:
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Deciding on the right spot
2
Studying the renovations required to match your standards and needs
3
Deciding whether you want to lease or rent the location
4
Considering traffic, parking, and other municipal regulations
5
Keeping in mind potential future business expansions
This might seem like a lot of work, but following the steps that have been discussed will make this seemingly-tedious task much easier to complete.
Read on for more information on the remaining 5 steps! We promise it’s worth it.
Develop Your Business Plan
To be sustainable, a company must be founded and operated with a complete grasp of its consumers, intrinsic strengths, levels of competition, and a vision of how it would adapt to contend in the future. Money is also required for a firm to start, function, and develop.
You will have a great weapon to encourage investors to work with you if you put up the effort to create a solid business plan. Your business strategy serves as a roadmap for your organization.
It outlines precisely where you are, how you got there, as well as where you want to go. Business plans are created in order to raise funds from possible investors, financiers, and other lenders.
Typically, developing a solid business plan constitutes of following a bunch of steps, which are:
1
Begin the plan with an overview
2
Define your business (type, size, goals, and objectives)
3
Identify your marketing strategy
4
Describe your product / service and how it is manufactured
5
Outline your managerial system
6
Summarize your financial requirements
7
Assess your proposed finance requirements
8
Specify your future plan(s)
In short, MBEC states that your business plan must encompass key activities, key partners (when applicable), key resources, customers and your relationship types, expected costs, and realistic projections.
For more information on creating a solid business plan, check out this PDF that MBEC published for their Mississauga 2018 initiative on which we collaborated.
Determine Your Business' Financing Options
Unless your company possesses the financial statement equivalent to that of Apple, you will most likely require funds through business finance. Even numerous major corporations demand financial injections on a regular basis to satisfy short-term commitments.
Finding an appropriate finance arrangement is critical for small businesses in the City of Mississauga. If you borrow money from the wrong place, you risk losing a portion of your business or being trapped into repayment conditions that will stifle your growth for years to come, and MBEC understands this better than most.
We know that this is scary, but worry not – this is where our and MBEC’s video comes in.
After brainstorming, researching, and writing down your business plan, you would have gotten a clearer idea of what the costs of starting your business will be – remember that this is just an approximation at this point; your raw costs needs can be either lower or higher when delving into the specifics.
Some of these costs are typically common to most businesses, and they entail:
1
Purchasing the correct equipment
2
Signing a lease or rent contract
3
Investing in an insurance policy
4
Purchasing the needed inventory
Once these are set, you will be required to create a detailed business plan showcasing that you truly understand your business’ needs, which you will present to the loan, grant, or investor partners you seek out.
This will help you get the funding you need.
N.B.: With many businesses launching post-pandemic and the increased demand for loans or funds, it is crucial to present your business idea and plan in creative, attention-grabbing, and engaging ways.
Check out our startup video production page to discover how animated explainer videos can help you achieve said elements.
To know more about the benefits of using animated videos for your startup project, you could also check this page out.
Determine Your Business Structure
A business structure is the way a corporation is organized in terms of its legal position. Everything from day-to-day activities to taxes and how much of your assets are at stake is influenced by the business structure you pick.
You should select a business structure that provides you with the appropriate mix of legislative protections and rights. Choosing a suitable business structure when founding a company allows your business to be legally recognized and offers rules for how the operations should be conducted.
Sole proprietorships, partnerships, and limited companies are the three primary forms of company formations. Identifying the category into which your company falls is critical to its success.
It isn’t always clear which model to adopt for new Mississauga enterprises that might fall into two or more of these classifications. Evaluate your startup’s financial requirements, risk, and growth potential.
It might be difficult to change your legal structure after establishing your company, so consider it carefully in the early phases of organizing your brand.
Here are some important aspects to consider when deciding on a legal structure for your business:
1
Versatility
2
Complexity
3
Responsibility
4
Taxes
5
Capital investment
6
Regulations and licenses
Register Your Business
A business name registration pertains to an authorization under the Business Names Act relative to the City of Mississauga. It applies in particular to company owners who seek to register a single proprietorship, a collaboration, or a corporate trade name.
If the name of a new business differs from the legal name of the business owner, it must be filed as such. It should be noted that the Master Business License issued at the time of registration ends after 5 years and therefore must be reissued.
Reminder notifications are not sent by the Companies and Personal Property Security Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Business Services (MCBS), so it is crucial that an entrepreneur keeps this at the top of their to-do list.
As per MBEC’s recommendations, this step should be taken after deciding on the ownership structure, i.e. if you will be the sole proprietor of the business or if it will run in collaboration or partnership with another business.
MBEC suggests that you go online to ontario.ca/business and do a name search. This will help you know whether your desired brand name is available to use or if you should conjure up a more attractive and unique name to attract people to your Mississauga business venture, regardless of its size.
There are a few common mistakes that entrepreneurs tend to make in the registration process; read this article to know what to avoid.
However, after settling on a name, you will be able to receive your Master Business License which you will need to get:
1
A business bank account
2
Licenses
3
Insurance
In short, according to MBEC’s sources, registering your business in Mississauga is one of the most important steps you should complete before being able to successfully launch your business, which will be the topic of the last and final video in this impressive MBEC / Verve Videos collaboration.
Ready, Set, Launch Your Business
Drum roll, please. You’ve finally reached the last step on your road to success as explained in MBEC’s initiative, feel free to pat yourself on the back for us.
MBEC offers seminars and training sessions in addition to their 10-step guide to launching a business! This is the plan for their 2018 initiatives on which the videos were established, but you can check out their 2022 initiatives here.
Conclusion
Forming and launching a business in Mississauga could be difficult for a variety of reasons, particularly during and after the Coronavirus pandemic which has impacted a number of industries. Many of these businesses are startups, whose growth is particularly hard.
That is why Mississauga’s Business Entrepreneur Center (MBEC) has worked and continues to work to empower businesses to establish and flourish in the spirit of fairness, diversity, and inclusive success that Canada and Mississauga in particular thrive on.
By following these steps and checking out the resources we’ve linked for you, your business’ reputation is bound to take off. Don’t hesitate to contact us to discuss your project ideas and get a free quote for an animated explainer video that guarantees your distinction amongst the many competitors, no matter what your business idea is!