A Guide to Entrepreneurship for New Immigrants: A Survey of Small Enterprises in greater toronto area

James Chen, Chen Jianbin, Master of Engineering and Master of Science from the University of Toronto, registered professional engineer in Ontario, Remax real estate agent, director of Canadian Oriental Real Estate Investment and Management Company, and co-chairman of landlord-tenant association. Lai's family has owned several properties since 16. He has many years of experience in industrial and commercial leasing, small business transactions and property management.

1. What are the common forms of small businesses?

New immigrants face various business opportunities after coming to Canada. As far as greater toronto area is concerned, there are five common forms of small businesses:

A catering-coffee shop, Chinese restaurant, western fast food, bar, tea room, etc.

B. service industries-beauty, manicure, hairdressing, travel agency, laundry, etc.

C. Science and technology-computers, web design, network services, etc.

D. Education-Chinese class, math and physics tutoring, English tutoring (TOEFL, GRE, IELTS), summer camp, etc.

E. Retail wholesale-small commodities import and export wholesale, small commodities retail, such as convenience stores, dollar stores, etc.

2. What is the current market price?

According to the type and location of merchants and the quality of their operations, the prices of merchants vary greatly. The prices of common small businesses such as convenience stores, bars, fast food restaurants and coffee shops range from 1 10,000 to 20,000 to 200,000. Generally speaking, buying a small business plus working capital usually requires an investment of 20,000 to 30,000 yuan.

3. What is the difference in return on investment?

The level of return depends on the business type, market conditions and business quality. Some industries are more profitable, such as restaurants, bars and convenience stores. A well-run small convenience store can earn two or three thousand yuan a month and recover the invested funds within one or two years.

4. Which ones are more suitable for new immigrants?

Because most new immigrants are limited by English, experience, funds and information, I personally think that coffee shops and fast food are more suitable for new immigrants. Retail and wholesale convenience stores and dollar stores; Education and consultation of beauty, manicure, hair salon and service industry. These businesses are characterized by low English requirements, low investment and simple management, which are suitable for family businesses. But we should also see some unfavorable factors, such as long working hours, monotony, difficulty in taking care of family life and so on.

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1, how do small enterprises choose?

I think there are three points to consider.

A: First of all, we should try our best to make use of our expertise in China. For example, computer technicians can do web design and network services, and teachers can do math and physics counseling and training courses.

B. Second, do what you can, and determine a main attack direction, such as coffee shop, on the premise of considering your own economic ability and time schedule.

C. Third, do a good job in market research. I think market research is to experience it by yourself, such as working in a coffee shop first.

2. What should I pay attention to when buying?

I think there are three points to pay attention to.

A. fully occupy market information. Know how many similar businesses are selling in the regional market you have determined, and how many choices there are at the same price.

B.we should fully investigate the business situation. Pay attention to the surrounding environment, such as population, race, traffic and competitors. Have a deep understanding of business profits, including turnover/total revenue, cost and profit rate. Generally speaking, costs are easy to understand, such as rent, utilities, purchase costs, etc. The turnover needs to be verified, such as the business records provided by the seller and the personal evaluation of the store.

C. make a good sales contract. Ask real estate agents, lawyers and accountants for help. There should be necessary protective clauses in the contract, such as how to hand over the inventory, bill review of loan conditions, turnover and cost, lawyer and accountant review, chain store approval, government approval and so on.

3. What policies and regulations do you need to know when investing in small enterprises?

There are many policies and regulations involved in small business transactions, so you must consult relevant professionals, such as lawyers and accountants. As far as I know, there are mainly the following six aspects:

A. government-approved uses-every property has government-approved uses, so you must go to the local government through a lawyer or in person.

B environmental requirements-some enterprises may pollute the environment because of their nature, and the government has very strict control over them, such as car maintenance and restaurants. Pollution treatment equipment such as waste oil recovery system must comply with relevant regulations, and the government will check it regularly.

C. tax requirements-small enterprises must consult accountants when filing tax returns, so as to realize legal tax savings to the maximum extent.

D. Insurance requirements-There are two main aspects of insurance for small enterprises. One is property insurance, which is usually the responsibility of the landlord, and the other is commercial insurance, which is the responsibility of the business owner.

E. Mortgage loan requirements-The loan requirements of small enterprises are different from those of housing loans. Generally speaking, the requirements are stricter, the interest is higher, and the proportion of loans provided is lower than that of housing loans. Consult banks and relevant government agencies in advance for suggestions on loans.

F. Various bylaws-such as the requirements of chain stores and shopping centers/property management departments.

It is worth mentioning that whether a business conforms to the above policy should be settled or reached at the time of buying and selling the business, and should not be delayed until after the transaction.

Where are the hot spots for investing in small businesses in most areas?

According to the statistics of Toronto Real Estate Association, the leasing market of commercial and commercial pavements was very active in February 2006, which increased by 36% compared with the same period of last year, reflecting the rapid growth of the market of small enterprises. For our China market, according to statistics and my own observation, small enterprises in China are mainly active in three areas:

downtown toronto

B, scarborough district, especially along the traffic arteries such as Finch, Steels and Sheppard.

C along center street, which is also the golden line of Toronto.

The similarities between these places are the concentration of Chinese, convenient transportation, better prospects for real estate appreciation, and more suitable for new immigrants to start small businesses.

What are the new changes in the market compared with the past? What are the new features? What is the market prospect?

In recent years, the small business market in China has also undergone great changes. Generally speaking, change has five characteristics:

A. Diversification

The variety of small enterprises in China is becoming more and more diversified, which shows that we in China are involved in more and more fields, and are no longer limited to the traditional small enterprises in China.

B. Develop into a large chain enterprise

Some successful small enterprises in China have started to develop into chain stores, and some have opened 5-6 branches. Recently, many China supermarket chains with tens of thousands of square feet have sprung up, the scale of which can be comparable to that of large western chain stores.

C. Develop to a higher level

According to my own experience as a commercial retail store agent, more and more small businesses in China want to enter Toronto's first-class shopping centers, such as Yorkdale Shopping Center, Fairview Shopping Center and so on.

D. Developing towards more intense competition

With more and more small businesses founded by new immigrants, the competition in the small business market is becoming more and more fierce, which leads to wider requirements for service scope, more and more unified requirements for goods, and correspondingly lower profits.

E. developing into non-Chinese communities

More and more small enterprises in China, such as catering and service industries, are developing to the east of scarborough and north of markham, especially in Mississauga, Oakville and even Hamilton and London in the west. Generally speaking, the prospect of small business market is broad and bright. Establishing small businesses is an effective way for new immigrants to solve their livelihood in the short term.

As far as I can see, some successful small businesses have some similarities:

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One is to do it yourself and take care of it yourself, and the other is to focus on yourself or the family business and be cautious in partnership with others. Third, we should constantly adjust our business strategy to adapt to market changes. Fourth, improve service quality and service attitude, and establish a stable customer base.

The business of small enterprises involves many aspects, so the help of professionals is essential, especially the friends who buy small enterprises in Canada for the first time. Toronto Real Estate Association has a special commercial transaction contract text, and has many professional guidelines and strict code of conduct requirements for real estate agents to protect the interests of buyers and sellers. A good real estate agent will actively assist in finding suitable business, preparing quotation, participating in contract negotiation and handling relevant handover procedures according to the actual needs of buyers. During the negotiation process, through the network system of Toronto Real Estate Association, real estate agents can search a lot of information about similar businesses that have been traded around recently, and provide reasonable negotiation strategies to help buyers get prices through analysis. Lawyers will provide legal advice on leasing, sales contracts and handover documents in commercial transactions to ensure that there are no potential legal disputes in the purchased business, which is also an indispensable link in commercial transactions.