While Canada is welcoming immigrants who want to set up their businesses, turning your ideas into a successful enterprise is far from easy: two-thirds of small businesses fail within the first 18 months of inception. This article contains advice from five newcomers on the challenges for newcomer businesses in Canada.
1. Understanding the Canadian market
As a newcomer, understanding the Canadian market is crucial if you want your business to succeed.
“The first challenge is knowledge, the knowledge about the market where you are operating, which is a new market because it is Canada. It is a new destination, it is a new country for whoever is coming,” says Reham Teama, who owns two businesses in Toronto.
“The answer is to attend a program about entrepreneurship,” she adds. “The entrepreneurship programs in Canada are numerous and many, so I started my research, researching organizations around the city of Toronto, and figured out what kind of programs the government is offering, especially for newcomers.
“I ended up attending seven different programs with seven different organizations, which I know is a crazy number, but one program was not enough for me,” she adds. “I wanted to get more knowledge, increase my network, and increase my connections through these programs.”
While there are many free programs that address the challenges for newcomer businesses in Canada, many new arrivals do not know they even exist. Did you know, for example, that most libraries in Canada will help you with the research needed to start your own business?
“The government funds libraries to help the public,” adds Purushothaman Cannane, who runs a recycling business in Brampton, Ont. “Ask a librarian where to access the data for free. They will book you with a session or they will coach you on how to do research, how to get some free resources.”
If you hold a Toronto Public Library card, you also have access to free LinkedIn learning courses. Other libraries might have similar services for newcomers.
Also read: How to finance your business in Canada as a newcomer
2. Minimizing business expenses
Startup costs are among the challenges for newcomer businesses in Canada: setting up operations here is expensive, and many business owners initially fund their ideas with their own money, long before the government grants kick in.
Taking a loan can be a costly affair as well, which means business owners need to move forward on their own steam in the early days.
“In the beginning, our challenge was time, because I had my three kids,” says Yulia Balobanova, who runs a business teaching art in Kitchener, Ont. “I had my family, and my husband was very busy at work, and I wanted to raise my kids, and at the same time, do that which I really love, and have income. I didn’t have the money to rent some space, and I wanted to be at home with my kids. That’s why I started to teach at home. You can start your business from scratch.”
Balobanova’s case is not an isolated one: Purushothaman Cannane also had to figure out how to set up his business while holding down a full-time job so he could provide for his family.
“When we started in the beginning, we did not have a lot of money, so I kept a full-time job, and I did struggle,” he admits. “I did my side hustles during my evenings and weekends. When you come here with your family, you have to feed them, you have to pay rent, so you just have a regular income to pay your bills and always try to invest whatever money you earn from it, like a little bit of money, in building your business. Don’t go for any fancy things like renting a big place. Try to reduce your expenses by at least 25 to 50 percent.”
3. Language barriers
English and French are Canada’s official languages, and knowledge of one (or preferably, both) is vital to succeeding in the country. While language barriers are among the challenges for newcomer businesses in Canada, the country does offer free English and French language classes to newcomers.
Balobanova devised a rather unique way to get her business off the ground while continuing to learn English.
“I was not confident in English at the beginning, and I started to teach Russian-speaking kids,” she says. “Step by step, I developed and improved my English language skills and started to teach English-speaking kids and adults, too.
“You can start from your community, but at the same time, it’s like a pitfall: you can get stuck there and of course, language is sometimes a big challenge,” she adds. “Go to an English school for adults to attract English-speaking clients. Even if you do provide high-quality service, your customers don’t care about your accent or things like that.”
Cannane also faced similar challenges, which he was able to overcome at little cost.
“There are multiple challenges I faced in the beginning, especially with communication,” he explains. “I joined Toastmasters in Brampton; it is a really good program for you. You’re going to be spending $70 or $80 for six months; you can network with people, you can address your communication problems.”
Also read: Are you a newcomer in Toronto and looking to start your business?
4. Not knowing the end-goal
When you start your business, you need to ask yourself pertinent questions that will help put your business on the right track: what needs you are meeting in the current market, what gaps you are addressing, and so on.
In the case of Kimesha Walters, the founder of Oasis Integrated Communications, a PR and communications firm, one of the reasons was that she wanted to provide opportunities for newcomers to Canada.
“I think for those of us who are immigrants, we know about job hunting in Canada, and it can be quite daunting,” she says. “In my first month, I got a taste of that, and I’ve had the experience of actually working in Canada.
“I’ve made some amazing people from different countries, but one of the things that stood out for me, while I was job hunting, is that I would love to be able to have a business that can create employment for immigrants, regardless of the country they are from, the colour of their skin, and the language that they speak,” she adds.
5. Time management
Among the early-stage challenges for newcomer businesses in Canada is being able to properly divvy up time between your job, your family, and your business. It is a careful balancing act that can easily go awry.
“There were times when I needed to decide on something and it just took so long because I wanted to get it right, and I want to have something that I do now, that I can look back on it in five, 10, 20 years down the line, and think, yeah, I did that and I’m still proud of it,” adds Walters.
“Paralysis by analysis is something that can really lead to procrastination. You don’t take the steps that you need to take, and sometimes that also holds you back,” she adds.
“If you’re not careful and not managing your time, when it comes to personal life, business, and career obligations, then you might not feed the energy into the business that you have.”
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