SmallBizTBay

 If you had been in business during the pandemic, you knew how much it 'hurt' and the Canadian Emergency Bank Account came in as an option to provide some cash flow. The idea at the time was for a $40,000 'loan' from the government, you had time to pay it off at 0%.  And if you paid off $30,000 (75%) of it by a set time then the $10k (25%) was forgiven.  As the pandemic went on, another $20,000 could be added, where half of it would be forgiveable. If you had taken the full 60, you would have had to pay 40 to get 20 (30/10 + 10/10).  If you had taken 50 the math would be pay 35 to get 15 (30/10 + 5/5) . Now, all sounded okay, but eventually the deadline was coming up and it had been set for December 31 of this year to pay off the amount needed to get the amount to be forgiven.  If not, then whatever was left was transferred to a normal loan.  If you had taken that 50k example above, if you got to December 31 and only paid back $34... then you would have the full remaini

Program available to support Indigenous women in starting their business. The Women in Business (WiB) program can help Indigenous women overcome the barriers to starting and growing their business with assistance in financings to help them start/grow, but also to help build their credit and possibly leverage other financing options available to them. To be considered applicants will need to be over 18 and provide documentation on their status. The microfinancing is for projects up to $20,000; where with only 5% equity requirement, another 45% will be considered a grant with the remainder as a loan with NADF. For more information visit:   http://www.nadf.org/women-in-business-program

Hackathons are a fun multi day event where folks can bring their tech and entrepreneurial skills together to build solutions. One such event is being put together by Lakehead University's Ingenuity in conjunction with the City of  Thunder Bay to find ways to better engage with youth in the city. Cost is $6.60(CAD) to participate where that will go towards the foodbanks at the 2 post-secondary institutions. To find out more information visit:   https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/hack-it-thunder-bay-young-adult-public-engagement-tickets-714825320777

  For businesses that are under 500 employees and over $100k/yr in sales, they can apply to CanExport to cover 50% of your costs up to $50k and is accepting applications from Sept 6 to 22, 2023.  https://www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/funding-financement/canexport/sme-pme/index.aspx?lang=eng

 One of the last things an entrepreneur thinks of is that moment when the business grows and they need to hire, and then hire some more. Figuring out HR on top of everything else can be, to some, absolutely foreign, and terrifying territory. The LaCloche Manitoulin Business Assistance Corporation (LAMBAC) is continuing with their Northern Ontario Women (NOW) program by partnering up with HRDownloads to offer some free subscriptions. HRDownloads can help an entrepreneur by simplifying the HR requirements, providing templates and forms and methods to track.  A few less things to worry about. Visit the NOWplus.ca site to apply for your free package (numbers are limited)

Grow Ontario Market Initiative - NOW OPEN OMAFRA is pleased to inform you that the governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $6 million through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) to help eligible agri-food businesses and industry organizations expand markets for Ontario food products. This Grow Ontario Market Initiative will support agri-food producers, processors, and industry organizations with cost-share opportunities for the implementation of domestic and export marketing activities.   Eligible activities will include (see link to guidelines for specific program details): ·      analysis and planning for new export and domestic market opportunities ·      implementation of new export and domestic marketing activities ·      development of new products that meet market opportunities Under the Grow Ontario Market Initiative app