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Small Businesses to get lower fees with Visa & Mastercard

In a recent partnership with the Government of Canada credit card companies Visa & Mastercard have decided to lower their percentages of fees for small business owners. The following changes are taking place in the fall of 2024 reduce domestic consumer credit interchange fees for in-store transactions to an annual weighted average interchange rate of 0.95 per cent; reduce domestic consumer credit interchange fees for online transactions by 10 basis points, resulting in reductions of up to 7 per cent; and, provide free access to online fraud and cyber security resources to help small businesses grow their online sales while preventing fraud and chargebacks. To be eligible Visa has suggested small businesses with Visa sales that are below $300k annually, and Mastercard for $175k. Non-profit organizations will also benefit (given the threshholds). In their press release (see below for link for more details) they give 2 examples of small businesses and how it would impact: Company with
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Pow Wow Pitch deadline is June 21 ($200k in prizes up for grabs)

  Indigenous entrepreneurs have until June 21st to submit their pitch for the Pow Wow Pitch competition. https://www.powwowpitch.org/pitch/ With prizes running from $500 to $25,000 for 1st place it's also an opportunity for entrepreneurs to have their business recognized on a large stage!  All for a 1 minute pitch!

Ministry of Labour releases new Employment Standards Tool

  Good Afternoon, As part of the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development’s continuous effort to support employees and employers and to improve the online experience for users, the  Employment Standards Self-Service Tool  was updated to include additional standards and combine pre-existing stand-alone tools into a single tool.   The tool is designed to assess common employment situations. Users will be able to select the standard(s) they are interested in testing. They are then guided through the process and prompted to enter information depending on the individual circumstances. Once the information has been entered, the tool tests for the standard(s) and provides results, which the user has the option to print. Users will be able to review calculations and entitlements for:   Termination Pay (New Addition)  Severance Pay (New Addition)  Hours of Work – Weekly or Biweekly Time Free From Work (New Addition)  Hours of Work – Daily Rest (New Addition)  Hours of Wo

Need help filing your taxes as a small business? Free webinar

 With the concern over the CRA labour action - getting information on how to file is scarce. This free webinar will help sole proprietors on what's needed to file their income tax. Free webinar - but need to register to get the zoom link https://calendar.thunderbay.ca/business/Detail/2023-04-26-1400-Income-Tax-Preparation-for-Sole-Proprietors-and-Pa

Thunder Bay Patio Project 2023

Provided by email from the Waterfront BIA Patio Applications: The City of Thunder Bay is once again extending its city patio program during 2023 allowing businesses to extend dining areas outdoors on City sidewalks, within parking lanes and in privately owned parking lots. All temporary patios must comply with public health directives, building codes, zoning by-laws and all applicable Federal & Provincial food safety laws.  City Staff are available to help and can be reached at  807-625-2527  or  807-625-2991 . Please Note: This temporary patio process is currently in effect for the 2023 patio season only, ending September 30, 2023. The deadline to apply for a patio within a City street (parking lane) is  May 5th, 2023.   Businesses without the required equipment to create their own patio, such as traffic barriers, curb

CBC's Dragon's Den is looking for auditions

CBC’s hit television show DRAGONS’ DEN, are currently hosting auditions looking for the next big ‘thing’ in Canadian business. DRAGONS’ DEN gives aspiring entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their businesses to a panel of wealthy Canadian business moguls - the Dragons. Successful pitchers will have a chance to earn real investment - from the Dragons’ own pockets! This is a fantastic opportunity for entrepreneurs and small business owners to apply and pitch their business concept for the chance to appear on national television. We would love to see as many people apply as we can! Interested applicants can apply here: http://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/auditions

Starter Company Plus grants are now open for application

 The latest round of applications for the Starter Company Plus grants are now open, closing on March 24th. Those that are selected to participate will be notified of the training sessions in April and then submissions for the grant will take place in May with grant approvals occurring in June. Apply today as demand outstrips supply for this program. www.gotothunderbay.ca/startercompanyplus To be eligible for this $5,000 grant you must be either a business that is starting up (i.e. under 1 year of operation) or an existing business that is expanding in some qualitative way or purchasing an existing business. As well, the business that is applying must be able to demonstrate that it is a full time business.