Starting a Business

Steps to Start

  • Determine your business structure as a Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, or Incorporate your company. Always seek professional advice.
  • If your business will operate from home, contact the Development Officer to inquire about a home occupation licence 403-362-3333.
  • Obtain, if necessary, any permits and/or special licences (e.g. bonded permits, development permits).
  • Obtain a City Business Licence - Come and see us at City Hall, 201-1st Avenue West, or call 403-362-3333.
  • Register your business with Alberta Registries (Licence Centre/Bureau, or AMA). Prior to, do a name search to see if the business name is available. For a free search go to http://www.arvic.com/ or Alberta Registries. 
  • Research and purchase commercial insurance as applicable to your business.
  • Contact the Canada Revenue Agency (1-800-959-5525), for a Business Number and GST Number, if you will have more than $30,000 in sales in a 12-month consecutive period, and/or if you intend to hire employees.
  • Research and acquire WCB coverage if necessary for your business (Phone: 800-661-1993)

BizPal

BizPaL is an innovative online service that provides entrepreneurs with simplified access to the information on permits and licenses that they need to establish and run their businesses. This unique partnership among federal, provincial/territorial, regional, and municipal governments is designed to cut through the paperwork burden and red tape that small business owners encounter.

BizPaL is designed with the following benefits in mind:

  • It's free to use
  • It saves time
  • It’s available 24/7

BizPaL is easy to use. Based on some generic information that you provide about your business, you will generate a customized list of permits and licenses that you may need from the municipal, provincial/territorial, and federal governments.

Resources

There are ample resources online, here are some of our favourites:

 

1. Alberta Economic Dashboard - quick snapshot of current economic state and detailed important indicators for business

2. Alberta Innovation and Advanced Education - aligns economic development activities in the province with post-secondary education, entrepreneurship, industry training, research, and innovation.

3. Business Link  - business information and services for new and expanding Alberta businesses.

4. Community Futures Entre-Corp Business Development  -  is your first stop for all your business start-up needs.  Community Futures offer small business counseling, training, and business plan development assistance. In addition, they offer small business loans up to $150,000 to aid in your business start-up.

For those requiring additional assistance, they also offer an 8-week Self-Employment Training Course. For more information on Community Futures Entre-Corp visit http://entre-corp.albertacf.com/ or call 403-528-2824.

For a complete online resource on the specifics of starting a business, consider Government of Canada's Business Start-Up Assistant.

5. Futurpreneur - financing options for young entrepreneurs (18 - 34 years old).

6. GRANTS - funding opportunities that support thriving communities and economic prosperity in Alberta.

7. Southeast Alberta Chamber of Commerce  - provides networking and business development opportunities for the City of Brooks, the County of Newell, Bassano, Duchess, and Rosemary.

8. Invest in Alberta - all you need to know to invest in Alberta

9. Small Business Alberta - Alberta Small Business Resources is a directory of business resources for new and established entrepreneurs.