I had the opportunity to speak with Jack Goodman, Regional Manager for BIG (Business Improvement Group) and thank goodness I made time to meet with him!
I was surprised at all the grants available for small businesses. I wish I knew about this earlier. Below are a few grants available for your business:
Federal Grants:
1. Hire an IT employee - Must be a recent graduate (3 years or less). Must work full-time and help you with IT software development. Grant available for your business is $16k.
2. Hire an assistant - Must be a recent graduate (3 years or less). Must work full-time. Grant available is the Government will provide assistance up to $8/hour for your employee's first year salary.
3. Going Global - If you are traveling outside of Canada, a grant is available to pay up to 75% of the cost for hotel, car, plane, etc. It must be an R&D mandate though.
Provincial Grants:
1. If you are hiring a sales manager, a grant is available whereby $50k is paid of 1st 2 years salary. As the employer, you must contribute a minimum of $20k to the employee's pay. The individual that you are hiring must show that they are capable of performing the job.
2. A grant is available to get a business evaluation done. Grant covers up to $15k.
Now, onto SRED (Scientific Research & Experimental Development). If you are creating a new product/service that will enhance your new/existing business or a combination of the both, you may qualify for SRED whereby the Federal Government will re-imburse you 35% of the cost of your project, while the Provincial Government will re-imburse you 6%. That's 41% re-imbursed!
It's amazing to find out all the available grants that are available. If you are interested in finding out more, contact eXmerce direct and we'll put you in touch with our good friend Jack! Feel free to call us at (403) 215-9220.
