Lots of sources have discussed the implications of the Canadian government’s Budget 2008 on small business. According to The Globe and Mail, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is working “to sell a plan that he said prepares the country for an economic slowdown”. Here’s a short list of what some reliable sources are saying about the budget with respect to business as well as a number of links to their respective websites:
How Does the Budget Affect Small Business?
Assistance for manufacturers
Improved employment insurance management
Improvements to the immigration system, including speeding up the process
Enhancements to the cross-border business system
Streamlining vehicle expense claims
Provision of more claimable tax credits under Canada’s Scientific Research & Experimental Development (SRED) tax incentive program
The Government of Canada's Department of Finance will table the 2008 Budget at approximately 4:00 p.m. EST today. Go to the Budget 2008 website to see the budget documents free of charge. You will also be able to see a live video broadcast of Minister of Finance, Jim Flaherty, delivering the budget speech to the House of Commons.
“Household spending in 2006 continued to show the effects of the strong resource economy in the West. Spending growth in Alberta surpassed all other provinces by a wide margin.”
This publication is available online for FREE. For a quick read, browse the Analysis section; navigate through the various sections of the report using the sidebar links. For those of you who like numbers, there are tables of data to look at. There is also a pdf version of the whole report available too.
Hardly surprising, most money was spent on personal taxes, shelter and transportation (both vehicle purchases and public transportation). Other big expenditures were on wireless communication, new computer hardware, and new audio and video equipment. Notably, people spent more on health care in 2006 and less on tobacco products (a nod to an aging and more health-conscious population?).
Alberta Business
To learn more about Alberta and to take advantage of the growth taking place in that province, check out AlbertaFirst.com. This website is a provincial, municipal and industry partnership created to provide information to businesses and individuals interested in starting a business or locating to Alberta. There is a a Business Directory Search as well as a Profile page which provides links to extensive statistical data for all Alberta communities and census divisions. If you click through to the Regional MarketPlace Profiles, you will see demographic, labour force, household income and expenditure and other statistical data for 11 distinct regions in Alberta. Click through to the Investment Profiles section and you will be directed to the Government of Alberta’s Investment Attraction System, which provides economic indicator information.
Another credible website for small business information in Alberta is The Business Link: Alberta’s Business Information Service. The Business Link is a not-for-profit organization supported by the Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta.
Note: Don’t forget about The Business Link for other provinces too. The main page has flags at the bottom representing each province which you click on to get to the various provincial small business pages.
As a complement to my posts on doing business in China (see Feb.1/08 and Jan.18/08), this post is about doing business in India. India, too, is emerging as an economic powerhouse. Back in 2003, Goldman Sachs recognized the market potential of four countries: Brazil, Russia, India and China and coined the term BRIC for the four named countries. Jim O’Neill, the Head of Global Economic Research at Goldman Sachs proposed the thesis that the BRIC countries would become four of the most dominant economies by 2050. This thesis is still supported and more information and resources about doing business in India are being produced. If you are planning on taking advantage of this growing market, please read on…
What are BRICs?
Click here for the website link to everything BRICs on the Goldman Sachs’ website. Among other things, you’ll find an interesting video interview called “BRICs at 6” from February 2008 with Jim O’Neill, Head of Global Economic Research.
To review the original 2003 report on BRICs produced by Goldman Sachs called “Dreaming with BRICs: The Path to 2050”, click here.
Read up on BRICs on Wikipedia by clicking right here.
From the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, click here for information on understanding India, its economy, investment, industry and services, trade and travel information.
The Economist is always a reliable source of credible information. Below are a number of links you might want to check out:
This link is a Special Report called “Technology in India and China: Running Fast” which appeared on Nov.8/07.
This link is a short background on India’s economy from Dec.31/07.
This link is a country briefing on India, most recently updated on Feb.9/08.
Click here for the Doing Business Project’sReport on India.
Ernst & Young has a number of reports and surveys on business in India. Click here to see them.
Cultural Differences
There are lots of books written on doing business in different countries, including India. One that I enjoyed is called “Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: The Bestselling Guide to Doing Business in More Than 60 Countries” by Terri Morrison and Wayne A. Conaway, 2nd edition, 2006. Check to see if your local public library has a copy of it in their collection before you run out to buy it. Click here to see some titles that the Oakville Public Library has in its collection on doing business in India. Click here to see materials on business etiquette in other cultures, including the “Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands” book.
The Canadian Government’s Foreign Affairs department includes an article by Rajesh Kumar on the cultural differences between India and the West: Click here to read it.
From Canadian Business Online, this article (click here) from June 2005 by Matthew McClearn discusses cultural differences, outsourcing, India’s infrastructure, government, relationships and more:
Click here for a link to a number of YouTube videos on doing business in India. Below is a presentation that I found there on doing business in India. While it is aimed at Brazilian businessmen, the content is about Indian culture.
Lots of you have been looking at the information that I’ve posted on Google Docs and Microsoft Office Live (see Oct.2/07 ). Don’t forget about the Small Business Online Tools section of this blog (left sidebar) for more resources that could save your small business time and money!
Are you looking for an alternative to Excel or Google Docs to work on or store your spreadsheets online? Thanks go to a colleague of mine who discovered a great blog post from Mashable.com on a bunch of online spreadsheet applications. Click here to see this post by Sean P. Aune from Feb.6/08. Called "Forget Excel: 14 Online Spreadsheet Applications", this post provides links to these 14 applications, some that are free (like Google docs) and some that are not. Enjoy!
My Nov.5/07 post was on how a strong Canadian dollar might affect small business. The loonie continues to sit at or near parity with the American greenback. Here's a sampling of some more interesting articles and reports for you to browse:
Rising Canadian Dollar = Grief for Small Business?
From The Globe and Mail online - Click here for “The Buck Stops Here: Renegotiating the Dollar”, an article by Rasha Mourtada from Jan.21/08 that discusses how and why you might consider renegotiating existing business deals.
This article (click here) is a media release from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. In the article, The Chamber discusses how businesses are resisting “suggesting that governments interfere with market forces”.
This article (click here) appeared in the Financial Post on Dec.31/07; it examines various challenges that small businesses face, including sensitivity to a fluctuating dollar.
This CBC article from Jan.29/08 is headlined “Manufacturers Expect Tough 2008: Report" - click here to see it.
Click here for a Frost & Sullivan research report on the Canadian Automotive Industry which appeared in Businessworld.
If you’re interested in the IT sector, click here for an article from the Nov.5/07 issue of ComputerWorld Canada called “IT Sector Explores Impact of Canadian Dollar’s Rise".
Follow this link for an article entitled “High Dollar is Causing Widening Grief” which appeared in businessexaminer.net, a part of BClocalnews.com.
While many of the articles above are doom and gloom, this article (click here) called “Silver Lining to Expected Slowdown” on financialpost.com, presents some reasons for optimism.
Many of you have looked at the post from January 18, 2008 (thanks, by the way!). Below are a few more good articles, links and videos on Doing Business in China that I’ve uncovered since then. This is lots of discussion around environmental issues, inflation worries, cost of petroleum and therefore plastic, and industries with safety problems (i.e. toys).
Click here for an article from the International Herald Tribune online from today (Feb.1/08) called “Costs Rising, China to Export Inflation" by David Barboza:
I really like this site: The China Business Network: Who’s Who in Chinese Business. It includes interviews, China Talk Radiopodcasts, featured blogs, news, videos, and a whole lot more on everything from business culture/strategy to technology, HR, finance/investing, retail and law.
From the University of Florida Business Library: George A. Smathers Libraries, click here for a site that offers lots of good links to other sites, business cases, and reports.
Click here for a link to the China Business Information Center on the U.S. Government Export Portal. It includes advice, faqs, webcasts, outreach events like webinars, etc.
Click here to see some YouTube videos on doing business in China.
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