Starting Business as a new immigrant in Canada

Things to know before making a decision to start a new business in Canada as an immigrant.

New immigrants coming to Canada generally take a huge risk for themselves and their families when making a decision to migrate, particularly when they are middle aged and well settled in their country of origin. It is much cumbersome to restart ones career and life in Canada for them as compared to younger people. Immigrants could be divided in many categories; for instance those who migrate with high qualifications, experience and meagre finances, those who migrate with education, experience and substantial funds, and those who migrate with a huge sum of money, education and not enough business experience.

Let us look at the issues faced by immigrants in general, particularly the second category of immigrants, ie the ones who migrate with education, experience and substantial funds. It is a undeniable fact that individual with outstanding education and capabilities, when forced to work on menial jobs, go through immense mental and psychological torture. Most of them start planning to setup a business of their own if and when they accumulate sufficient funds. Those immigrants who bring in sufficient funds with them also make similar plans once they get to know the actual job situation in Canada.

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It is a undeniable fact that individual with outstanding education and capabilities, when forced to work on menial jobs, go through immense mental and psychological torture.

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The Dream and the Dilemma

The decision to startup a business of your own in Canada brings in more complications. There are four major issues which they come across immediately because of the unfamiliarity with rules, regulations and norms of doing business in the new country:

a) Selecting the right business

b) Safety of the Capital

c) Return on Investment (ROI)

d) Human Resource

However, before jumping into any business venture, one must ask him or herself five basic questions:

1) Are you conversant with the basic rules of doing business? Do you have prior business experience at all?

2) Are you ready to take a "risk" on your investment?

3) Are you physically and mentally capable of doing hard work?

4) Do you easily give up or capable of rising from the ashes and restart the work again?

5) Do you have ability to learn new skills and things?

If you have these capabilities then to a certain extent, you are suitable for doing a business. Even if you don't have sufficient experience, the gap can be filled by suitable advice and hard work. Few more questions that you must ask yourself are:

1) Do you have a business plan in your mind?

2) If yes, then what are those information and your resources of getting those information?

3) Are these information up to date?

4) Are you fully aware of all formalities of setting up your business from beginning to end and are you well informed about the relevant laws?

Most likely, you will find out that you don't have all answers to these questions in "yes".

What Next?

You have to collect all this information before you could start a business, let alone succeed in it. You must find out the sources from where you can get the latest, updated, proper and correct information and guidance. This include the government websites, your friends and relatives network and business consultants. The downside of friends and relatives network advisory is that they base their advice on their own specific experience and there is a normal tendency to hide one's own weaknesses. Thus the failures gets attributed to the system, market and the way of doing business.

Therefore, it is always better to connect with an expert business consultant for advise befor you jump into a new venture.