City of Vaughan

Free 1:1 business advisory is available through the Vaughan Business and Entrepreneurship Centre, where our Small Business Advisors can offer advice and planning tactics for your business.  

We offer advice to entrepreneurs and businesses of all stages and sizes through our 1:1 business advisory service. If you are looking for solutions to complicated business challenges or alternate sales strategies, we’re here to help. To be connected to an Advisor click here. 

Each business is unique, which is why we recommend our 1:1 business advisory to help business owners determine what priorities should be focused on and what opportunities there are to support your business.  

E-commerce solutions and digital adoption strategies, including: web presence, social media, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), SEM (Search Engine Marketing), Google My Business, and other avenues to improve digital presence are available through the Digital Service Squad. 

Here at the Vaughan Business and Entrepreneurship Centre, we also offer a four-part workshop series that will help you work on your business plan and create a viable budget and financial projections. This free, virtual program is designed for startups and established small businesses to get their ideas on paper through a step-by-step process of developing a business plan. On top of the training sessions, all participants will be given an opportunity to book 30-minute one-on-one meetings with the entrepreneur advisor to get feedback on their business and financial plans. 

Learn more about this series and upcoming webinars and events here: Events | Vaughan Economic Development (vaughanbusiness.ca). 

Access additional, on-demand, free online learning through the Small Business Centres Ontario Network. Topics include cash-flow and budgeting, sales strategies and more. 

It is important to have as much visibility for your business as you can manage. The City of Vaughan’s Economic Development team has a list of various directories that may be relevant for your business. Please check eligibility and criteria on each of the associated pages prior to getting listed. Some are no-cost while others require a membership to join, feel free to connect with us if you’d like to discuss how business directory listings can fit into your marketing strategy.

VBEC offers a variety of training through webinars, seminars, and group consultations to help create tactics and strategics to set your business up for success. Explore our offering at vaughanbusiness.ca/events.  

SBC Ontario provides free, on-demand online learning sessions for entrepreneurs at all stages of your business journey. Topics include marketing, branding, and understanding financials.   

Businesses can consider the following tactics for supplemental revenue streams:  

• Utilize the free Open for Business toolkit to share with your customers
• Establish e-commerce or online ordering 
• Offer delivery or work with a delivery service platform 
• Encourage gift card purchases 
• Promote shop local 
• Ask for online reviews 
• Offer virtual appointments or shopping experiences, and more. 

Conduct a thorough review of your current spending – you may find opportunities to reduce spending in certain areas of your business, even temporarily. Look for opportunities related to: insurance, inventory purchasing, labour requirements, automation opportunities, office supplies, marketing channels, vehicle or transportation costs. 

Look at opportunities to generate alternative sources of revenue. We’ve provided some tips to think about above. 

If you’d like some help or guidance, our staff can sit down with you to review your current budget and spending.  

Small businesses looking to start, grow or expand can determine their eligibility for Vaughan’s Starter Company Plus program. Qualified program participants will receive tailored training and mentorship and will also have the opportunity to apply for a provincial grant of up to $5,000. 

There are Provincial and Federal grants available to support digital transformation, digital adoption and employee training: 

• Grow Your Business Online Grant 
• Boost Your Business Technology Grant 
• Digital Main Street 

In addition to the digital transformation programs listed above, there may be other funding supports available. The Government of Canada has a consolidated list of available grants, contributions and other financial assistance in a useful search tool: the Business Benefits Finder.  

While the City does not have influence over the arrangements between a landlord and tenant, as that is a private-sector agreement, we do encourage you to discuss your concerns with your landlord to explore options that would be jointly beneficial during this period of construction and streetscaping.  

Some topics for discussion could include temporary rent reduction, deferred rent repayment plans, and possible write-off or forgiveness of tenant debt. Also make sure to review the details of your lease agreement to consider all options available.