Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

Before you get started, it is critical to realistically assess your potential as an entrepreneur. To do this, you need to:

• Understand the personal attributes needed for starting a successful business and evaluate your managerial skills
• Understand the demands an entrepreneurial career will have on you and your family
• Assess your financial position

For a quick online quiz visit Youth Employment Services, or try a more thorough online assessment from the Business Development Bank of Canada.

Explore New Business Ideas

While every opportunity starts with an idea, not every idea represents a viable business opportunity. Distinguish between ideas and real opportunities by asking yourself:

• Does the idea solve or satisfy some consumer want or need? Is there a demand?
• How much competition is there? If anyone has tried this concept, what happened to them?
• Can the idea be turned into a business that will be profitable?
• Do you have the skills needed to take advantage of the opportunity?

To find information on current trends, read books like Brave New Unwired World and Organics, Inc., or browse our collection of Industry Files, magazines, and daily newspapers in the Career Resource Library.

Franchising
Exploring opportunities in franchising may be an attractive possibility if you want to go into business for yourself while taking advantage of the support that an established company can provide. To find out more, check out:

• Chapter 5 in Building a Dream: A Canadian Guide to Starting Your Own Business
• The Franchise Annual —"The Original" Franchise Handbook and Directory
• How Franchising Works from How Stuff Works
• The Canadian Franchise Association

Starting a non-profit organization or charity
A more socially-active route for enterprising minds is to start a non-profit organization.For more information visit Charity Village or for tax information visit the Canada Revenue Agency.

Feasibility Study

Will your idea actually work? Conduct your market, cost, and profitability assessments in order to move your venture from the idea stage to the marketplace. Read chapters 6 & 7 in Building a Dream for practical tips. For market data consult the Toronto Region Business and Market Guide by the Toronto Board of Trade (available in the Career Resource Library).

Develop a Business Plan

A business plan is a detailed, written "action plan". This will help you outline your future endeavor, and is required by most financial backers to prove you are likely to succeed.

• Read library books like The Successful Business Plan by Rhonda Abrams for sample business plans.
• Use the Business Startup Assistant from the Canada Business Service Centre for more information, including links to plan-writing tools.

Secure Financing / Funding

Finding funding can be a challenge, but there are many resources available to help get your small business off the ground. Consult the Guide to Canadian Grants & Assistance Programs (in the Career Resource Library) for over 1,000 sources of funding. Some of the most popular resources include:

• The Youth and Student programs from the government of Ontario offer programs specifically for young people starting a business. Through the Summer Company program, you can qualify for a loan of up to $3,000.
• The Canadian Youth Business Foundation is a non-profit, private-sector initiative designed to provide mentoring, business support and lending to young Canadian entrepreneurs who are creating new businesses.
• Sources of Financing is a new leading-edge product on Strategis based on a sophisticated and powerful search engine.
• Accessing Government Funding is an in-depth guide to getting funded by various government programs from Canada One Magazine.
• The Business Development Bank of Canada is Canada's small business bank, offering financial services, consulting services, subordinate financing and venture capital.

Education and Development

There are a number of services that offer free training and support for aspiring entrepreneurs. Some of the most popular include:

• Enterprise Toronto offers a number of seminars such as "Marketing" and "Business Planning", as well as free one-hour consultations to give feedback on your business plan.
• The YMCA of Metropolitan Toronto offers a number of free programs and services that can help you start your own business.
• Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE) is a college and university based not-for-profit organization with chapters, including one at U of T. ACE offers an annual international conference, a newsletter and an Entrepreneur’s Resource Kit.
• The University of Toronto Entrepreneur Club (UTEC) is open to all students, staff, faculty and alumni of U of T. UTEC provides resources and special events. A great way to network!