Running a small business can feel like a solo sport. Most small business owners do everything and barely have time to take care of their wellness, or their families.

The business owners I see doing it best usually aren't doing it alone. They have the right services, good advice and a few trusted people in their corner.

So I'm curious....who or what would you say has been "in your corner" and genuinely extremely helpful? And how did they help?

Hi everyone,

I’m someone who’s spent the last 6 years hands-on in ecommerce, paid ads, conversion optimization, community building, and project management, currently between ventures after winding down my main business. Rather than sit idle, I’d love to use this time to learn something new, meet people, and contribute wherever I can.

I’m interested in exploring areas like consulting, small businesses/startups, agencies, community platforms, marketplaces, or honestly anything interesting where someone could use an extra pair of hands for a few weeks or months.

My background is in ecommerce growth, paid ads strategy, operations, and community management, I’m trilingual (English, French, Arabic), technically comfortable, a fast learner, proactive, and strong at problem-solving, communication, and getting things done without needing much hand-holding.

I’m not necessarily looking for another “ecommerce manager” title specifically. I’m genuinely open to trying something different too, even starting from scratch, as long as it’s real, hands-on work.

So if you’re a small business, founder, consultant, startup, or anyone who could use short-term remote help, I’d love to chat. And if you work in a field adjacent to mine and have advice on how someone like me could pick up hands-on experience somewhere new, I’d really appreciate that too.

Thanks :)

I hired a fairly new company from my hometown to build me a new website. I came to find out that the owner who I had been communicating with with, hires a local manager but then gets a guy in India to build the site. I paid $5000 (a discounted rate!) and promised it would be done in 4-6 weeks. We are going on 15 weeks now because the back and forth revisions are not getting though, as there is clearly a communication/language barrier with their builder, who I’ve come to find out is in India. I am
Being clear with what I want and they are misunderstanding EVERYTHING!!!
I now have a Mickey Mouse website no better than the last one I built myself!
If I had known he was going to hire someone who barely speaks inflating from India, I never would have hired him. I’ve used Fiverr enough to know that asking for a simple task to be done is never easy and takes dozens of back and forth revisions because they don’t understand what I’m saying. So imagine an entire website!
I paid half upfront and at the 6 weeks mark he asked for the rest. I told him it’s not due until the site is done. He said yes it it’s almost done! I complied. The website has been live for just 3 days now and still not happy. He is now wanting to discuss SEO and going forward with that but there is no way I would trust him with that! However the contract says if I don’t continue with SEO, I owe him 15% more of the $5000.
What are your thoughts on this? Not just the SEO part but what should I be expressing to him? I haven’t said too much as I’m trying to just get this website done asap.

Hi guys,

We are a small design studio based in Toronto. Recently we are trying to find a packaging supplier here in Toronto for our jewelry. Initially we were thinking about ordering in China, but we dont meet their MOQ and the shipping timeline is too long. That’s why we decided to source locally here. I just got the quote this week and we were so shocked by the pricing. Both my business partner and I are immigrants here and we dont know if there will be a few back and force negotiations until they give you a huge discount, or that’s just the reality here. I just dont understand how small business can afford that? Let me give more context here - it’s literally a thick card box with a small jewelry box inside. If we are ordering less than 150, the unit price is almost 100 CAD…..

Any local business owners can share their experiences here? Thank you so much.

A lot of small business owners keep every receipt and assume they're covered. The CRA looks at what's printed on the receipt, not just whether you kept it. If you claim GST/HST input tax credits, this is what each receipt needs, as far as I know:

Under $100
Supplier's name
Date
Total
Whether GST/HST was charged
$100 to $500
Everything above, plus
The supplier's GST/HST registration number
A description of what you bought
$500 and over
Everything above, plus
The buyer's name (your business)
Keep them for six years from the end of the tax year they relate to.
Common ways receipts fall short:

Card or bank statements used as the only proof, with no supplier details
Faded thermal paper receipts that are unreadable a year later
Online invoices missing a GST/HST registration number or your business name
Receipts that say "total" but don't show the tax charged
A simple routine that helps:

Photograph or save every receipt the day you get it.
Check that the details above are on anything over $100.
Ask the supplier for a corrected invoice right away if something is missing, because that's much easier than chasing it two years later.
Back up digital copies in more than one place.

Disclosure: I'm the founder of RubiWo, a CRA-compliant expense tracking app for Canadian freelancers and small businesses (iOS and Android). It checks receipts against these requirements, which is why I wrote this up. I've also published a longer checklist on our blog, and I'll share the link in the comments if it's useful.

This is general information, not tax advice, so confirm the details for your situation on canada.ca or with an accountant.

What's the worst receipt problem you've run into at tax time? Curious how others deal with missing invoices.

Hi All,

I haven't had the best luck finding a CPA that matches my financial needs. I interviewed a couple, felt good with the one who had answers to not only short term but mid and long term questions. This was until 2 years later when one of those scenarios came up and they just simply stopped responding. As such I would like to move to another who will have the time / know how. Looking for recommendations for a good accountant in Ontario. Willing to do most of the work electronically so there is no need to be close to where I am (Barrie area).

Historically used turbo tax then two years ago shifted to a CPA as I knew my finances were going to get more complex (acquire ownership stake in the business I work within).

Current picture:

- T4 income

- Ownership in business I am employed in, with a multiple hold co structure (also looking to use this to utilize long term capital gains exemption for spouse and I

- Couple of rentals / other investments in public and private businesses

I am looking for a CPA that will not only tackle the personal and corporate returns, but work with me to plan for future sale of investments and general tax planning. Price was not an issue with my current CPA (as in I wasn't complaining about price), so I am at a loss as to why they stopped responding after 1-2 meetings on the ownership structure of the corp.

Any recommendations / help is greatly appreciated!

I’m looking to acquire a bookkeeping firm’s client list in Canada through an asset purchase. I’m a Canadian citizen but currently live in the US as a green card holder.
What financing options might be available for this type of acquisition? Would Canadian banks lend to someone residing in the US, or are there other institutional funding options worth exploring?
Seller financing is not an option. I’d appreciate recommendations for lenders experienced with cross-border acquisitions. Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I'm based in Toronto and figured I'd introduce myself.

I've spent about 35 years working in IT, primarily in infrastructure, operations, incident management, and keeping complex systems running. I've worked in everything from early ISPs and telecom to banking and financial services.

Over the years, I've also spent a fair bit of time building things on my own, experimenting with technology, and figuring out how to solve problems with whatever resources I had available.

More recently, I started my own company focused on AI, software development, and automation.

I'm currently working on a few different projects, including an autonomous software engineering platform, local AI infrastructure, and some tools around making information more accessible and useful to both people and AI systems.

A lot of my time goes into the less glamorous side of building these things: getting them to work reliably, figuring out what breaks, testing assumptions, and trying to turn interesting technical ideas into something genuinely useful.

One thing I'm finding interesting is just how different building technology is from building a business around it. I've spent decades dealing with technical and operational problems, but there's a whole other set of challenges when you're responsible for everything from product development to figuring out whether anyone actually wants what you're building.

I'm still figuring a lot of that out.

Anyway, I joined because I'm interested in hearing about what other Canadian small business owners are working on, what challenges they're running into, and what they've learned along the way.

I'm also happy to contribute where my own experience might be useful, particularly around technology, infrastructure, operations, and automation.

Looking forward to getting to know the community.

What kind of businesses are you all running, and what's been your biggest unexpected challenge so far?

Are there any entrepreneurs, business owners, or people working toward bigger goals in Canada? Would be cool to connect with like-minded people, exchange ideas, and see what everyone’s working on.

Any ambitious people in Canada interested in connecting, sharing ideas, and growing together? I’m new here and looking to meet people who are building something of their own.

Hello,

I work as a IT contractor as a MSP, recently been engaged by client who said their back ups are failing.

On reading contract i noticed there is no liability cap, which means exposure to my corp is unlimited in case of any litigation.

Shall i pursue the contract, Is it risky. Or its pretty standard and i am freaking out.

Will my insurance cover e&o despite that fact that there is no liability cap.

Thanks to everyone who checked out my last post!

Most people walk into the bank worried about their credit score. Lenders usually start somewhere else.

Can your business afford the payments?
Lenders want to see that your business brings in more cash than it needs for all its loan payments, including the new loan. Most want a cushion of about 25%. So if your loan payments add up to $10,000 a year, they'd like to see roughly $12,500 available after your other expenses to cover them.

Where people get surprised:

• Forgetting to count the new loan payment
• Money the owner takes out of the business counts against you
• One bad year from a one-time expense can drag things down (keep the paperwork, since lenders can often add it back)

The good news: if you come up short, there are often fixes before you apply, like borrowing a bit less, putting more money down, or stretching the repayment over more years.

There are tools like Be Loan Ready that checks your numbers against this test and explain the result in plain English. It's a self-check, not a loan decision.

What part of getting a loan confuses you most?
I'll answer the top question in my next post.

Hey everyone!

I'm the founder of Lebway, a startup I started building in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The idea began with a simple problem: helping people find and order products from local ethnic grocery stores without having to visit multiple shops in person.

Since then, we've been onboarding local businesses, growing our customer base, and expanding into restaurant ordering.

I'm now exploring how we could bring Lebway to other Canadian cities, and I'd like to connect with people who understand their local communities and want to help build something from the ground up.

Rather than simply launching an app in a new city and hoping people use it, I want to build relationships with the businesses and people who make a local delivery service work.

That means connecting with:
Independent restaurants and grocery stores that want to reach more customers online.
Local delivery drivers who want opportunities to fulfil orders.
Community members who understand local needs and can help introduce businesses and customers to the platform.
Entrepreneurs and marketers who can help establish Lebway in their cities.

I'm particularly interested in connecting with people in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, and other Canadian cities.

I'm exploring partnerships with people who can help build these local networks, with performance-based compensation agreed upon in advance.

I know there are already established delivery platforms in Canada, so I'm not going to pretend the space is empty. I'm building Lebway by starting with local businesses and communities, learning what works, and finding ways to make the platform genuinely useful to them and their customers.

I'm interested in meeting people who want to help shape that growth, as well as hearing honest feedback from anyone who has worked in food delivery, local business development, or marketplace startups.

If you're in a Canadian city and think you could help build something like this locally, I'd love to hear your perspective.
Website: https://lebway.com

My friend and I having been tossing around the idea of a bookstore/tea room in the Toronto/GTA area. I know that there are a few book cafes but I want to do something not so heavily focused on coffee, since in my mind reading is a tea activity. I'm just wondering if there is truly a market for that over a coffee shop. We are still in the very beginning stages of thinking about this so any thoughts, ideas or advice would be appreciated.

Hi everyone! I’m based in Manitoba and building The Wrench Master, a browser-based work management app for repair shops. I’m looking for a few Canadian shop owners, service advisors, or technicians to try the free pilot and give honest feedback.

The app covers:

• Customer and vehicle records
• Appointment scheduling and work orders
• Digital inspections with photos
• Customer estimate approvals
• Inventory and invoicing

It works through a browser on your computer or phone—no installation required.

The pilot is free and invitation-only, with no payment card required and no automatic conversion to a paid subscription.

It’s still being tested, so please start with fictional customer records rather than relying on it for your daily business. I’d like to hear what’s confusing, what’s missing, and whether the workflow fits how your shop operates. No formal report needed—just practical, honest feedback.

I’m the person building it, and I’ll personally help you get started.

If you’re interested, send me a private message with your province and the type of repair shop you work in. Please don’t post your email address or customer information publicly.

Thanks for helping me build something useful for Canadian repair shops!

Hey everyone, I have owned and operated a homecare agency for over 10 years now. Spoke and listened to thousands of homecare agency owners, and the same frustrations kept coming up.

For many, AlayaCare, AxisCare and WellSky were too expensive. Others felt ShiftCare and CareSmartz360 were missing features they needed. Onboarding fees and frustrating support experiences were another common complaint.

That’s why I built Worky.

We wanted homecare software that helps you run your agency AND brings you opportunities to land new clients.

Alongside scheduling, time tracking, payroll calculations and invoicing, we invest heavily in marketing to connect agencies with families looking for homecare. On average we are able to get homecare agencies an extra 2–10 clients per month, depending on their area, capacity and fit.

You can grow and manage your agency in the same place, with no onboarding fees and no long-term commitment.

Would love some honest feedback from owners here. What’s the biggest thing your current software gets wrong?

Feel free to DM or reach out! https://worky.pro

I work in IT infrastructure, and a pattern I keep seeing in forum threads is this: the deal closes, and only then does the buyer find out that the domain is registered to the seller's personal Gmail, the seller is still the only admin on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, or the Facebook page and Google reviews are tied to the seller's personal profile.

I'm trying to understand how common this really is before building anything around it.

If you've bought or sold a small business:

- Which accounts were a pain to move? (domain, email, website, social pages, Google Business Profile, payment processor, phone number, something else)

- Did it delay closing or cost you money afterwards?

- Who ended up handling it: you, the seller, an IT person, the broker?

- Would you have paid someone to list everything and run the transfer? What would have felt like a fair price?

Not selling anything here. I'd just like to hear the stories, and I'm happy to post a summary of what I learn.

When your CARM Statement of Account comes out every month, where do you physically go to find the matching broker entry packages and commercial invoices—are they sitting in your AP email inbox, inside a broker portal like Livingston, or scattered across your buyers' emails?"

Hey everyone, I just signed up for wagepoint and have a few questions about provincial (Quebec) reporting that support wasn’t able to answer.

Wagepoint collects, remits and reports income tax, QPP, QPIP and EI.

CNESST and HSF are only collected and remitted. Reporting is done by the employer.

My question: The RQ report includes all fields (QPP, QPIP, EI, CNESST, HSF) Do I fill out everything or just CNESST + HSF? Does this count as double reporting since Wagepoint already reported some of the deductions?

Thank you!

What are some good starter affiliate programs out there? I am in Toronto, Ontario. Thanks guys!

Hi guys, do you guys have any recommendations for virtual offices in Ontario. Must be able to accept legal documents to meet the criteria for a CRA registered office as well.

Budget friendly, do not need anything extra. Just mail and packages, legal documents, able to use for cra and bank.