3 Top Challenges to Becoming an Entrepreneur in Canada
By Marcia Stipanich
The decision to become an entrepreneur, especially in a foreigner country, is not easy to be made. But, it’s worth each gray hair and I’ll tell you why.
It is well known that most of the companies fail or go bankrupt in the beginning, it is also well known that the revenue, if any, is limited in the early stages (years) of the business, and to combine it with a new language, lack of friends and family (emotional support), is not an easy thing to do, but it is possible. The three main items that suppose to be challenging for new entrepreneurs are listed below:
Bureaucracy
Trust me, that’s the easy part, or even nonexistent! As a non-PR (Permanent Resident), anybody can easily open a Master Business License as a Parnership, Soleproprietorship, or even an Incorporated – with a percentage smaller than 50%. As a PR, this is even easier because it is possible to participate with +50%. It is not really bureaucratic, and yet, the first two mentioned are completely linked to personal taxes, which simplify tax filing and paying fees.
Culture
This is the hardest part. Being a foreigner (Brazilian like me or from another culture), when arriving in Canada it is not easy to change the actual mindset, with all past experiences, with the background from so many years. It is like changing the body reflex, it requires time and training.
A summary of the cultural changes to face would be: change the ways of approaching someone, the reasons why someone accepts talking to someone or to trust someone, also changes the way people relate to each other, and also changes the way people relate to work and family.
It is difficult and takes a while to fit into the new culture here. My advice to such cases is to prepare yourself twice when opening a company unless your audience is exclusively for the first line of immigrants.
When we take Culture out of the game, there is only one way to decide which purchase is different. And here comes the next and perhaps most important item.
Business plan
A great idea just is not enough. It is core to investigate if there is a market if there is a desire, and to understand substitutes before launching something. Time and resources (financial and personal) will be the foundation of this new company, and planning this phases, in the long run, will make the world difference to prepare an entrepreneur emotionally for the entire – long – learning curve. In the existence of analysis, there is the possibility of errors, the lack or nonexistence of it, is to rely only on luck, it is like walking in the storm blindfolded.
Result
After the storm, and the gigantic challenges, you look ahead and see endless possibilities that this country and the USA (on the side) makes it possible, looking back, you see that you were able to overcome all this, or that you have learned so much in this life. Day by day building our own way, with independence and claw. The journey is really good, and I love it a lot. I’m free, I’m doing something nobody else did, not this way, I’m innovating on my own way and I share this every day with my pillow and my thoughts. It didn’t kill me, just made me stronger. I mean, do you want to be happy? Start a Business in Canada!
About Marcia Stipanich
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marciastipa/?locale=en_US
Website: https://marciastipanich.weebly.com
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