It used to be that if you wanted to open up your own business, you either needed to take out a massive bank loan or you already had a significant amount of capital ready to invest. With the advent and continuing growth of the Internet, this is no longer the case. There are many different ways that you can make money online, whether it be starting up your own content-based website (like a blog), an e-commerce site (online store), or a website advertising your services (freelance writing in my case, but others have been known to do web development, creative work, and other things).
Starting your own business can be a daunting task and it’s one that you shouldn’t need to go at alone. Thankfully for young Canadian entrepreneurs — we’re talking about folks under the age of 35 — there are many free resources out there at your disposal! Here are three key websites that any young entrepreneur, particularly those looking to make money online, should bookmark.
John Chow dot Com is the personal blog of self-proclaimed dot com mogul John Chow. He was around before the first dot com bust and he managed to survive it relatively unscathed. While there are personal posts to be found on that site, he also offers a lot of advice for making money online, highlighting new ad networks, WordPress upgrades, and all sorts of other business opportunities. If you haven’t added John Chow dot Com to your RSS reader, you should definitely do that now.
The Young Entrepreneurs Association of Canada, according to their official website, is “a volunteer-driven non-profit organization whose mandate is to support young people in business. Aimed at business owners 35 and under, YEA provides members an opportunity to learn from each other’s experiences and take advantage of peer mentorship as they grow their businesses.” They have many programs and resources that will surely be helpful to any up-and-coming entrepreneur.
Business Development Canada (BDC) has a section dedicated to young entrepreneurs. They outline 5 steps to starting a business, as well as several consulting solutions like business plan development, financial planning, and business coaching.
