Starting a business in BC
Starting a business in British Columbia is straightforward on paper and hard in practice. The registration takes an afternoon. Finding customers who pay, pricing so you make money and building systems that let you grow takes years, and most mistakes are made in the first months. Ali founded his first company in 2007 and has founded eight in total.
What you leave with
You launch with a tested plan, a sensible structure agreed with your lawyer and accountant, enough capital and a clear path to first revenue.
Who it is for
- First-time founders in BC leaving employment to start a company
- Newcomers to Canada starting their first business here
- Experienced owners launching a second company or a new venture
What we deliver
- A feasibility check: demand, pricing, costs and the capital needed to reach break-even
- Structure decisions (sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation) framed for your lawyer and CPA
- A business plan, financial model and capital plan for your own use and any lender
- A first-customers plan: positioning, pricing, channels and the first sales conversations
- Systems basics: banking, bookkeeping, invoicing, payroll and marketing foundations
How it runs
01Advisory session
A 60-minute Startup Advisory consultation covers the idea, your resources and the decisions ahead.
02Test
We run a feasibility check and, where it holds, build the plan and model.
03Set up
We frame the structure, banking and systems decisions and coordinate your lawyer and CPA.
04Launch
We help you find the first customers and set the marketing and sales foundations.
Engagement and fees
Starts with a 60-minute Startup Advisory consultation at $349, by video, phone or in person in Vancouver. Plans, launch support and ongoing advisory are quoted as fixed fees or a retainer. Every engagement is scoped after a call and confirmed in writing. See consultations and fees.
Decisions that are hard to undo
Some early choices are cheap to change and some are not. Your corporate structure, your shareholder agreement with a co-founder, your lease and your first hires are expensive to unwind. We focus the early work on the decisions that will still matter years from now: whether to incorporate and how, what a partner contributes and what they get, how long a lease to sign and what you can afford to pay yourself while the business finds its feet. Your lawyer and CPA execute these.
Customers before everything
The most common cause of failure is not a bad product. It is a product nobody was asked to buy before it was built. Before you spend on premises, equipment or branding, talk to the people you expect to pay you and find out what they pay now, what frustrates them and whether they would switch. Ali's agencies have built more than 150 live HVAC websites, and the lesson from that work is consistent: founders who sell first and build second survive.
Starting versus buying
Many founders assume starting from scratch is the only way. Buying a small existing business, sometimes for less than it would cost to start one, gives you customers, equipment, staff and a track record a lender can finance. It also gives you someone else's habits and problems. We put both options in front of you with real numbers. Some founders start. Some buy. Some buy a struggling business and rebuild it around their idea. The right answer depends on your capital, your skills and how fast you need income.
Questions about this service
Should I incorporate right away?
It depends on liability, tax, partners and whether you plan to raise money or sell later, and your lawyer and CPA must decide it with you. We help you understand the business reasons so that conversation is short and productive.
How much money do I need to start?
Enough to reach the point where the business pays its own costs, plus a cushion for the months that go slower than planned. The feasibility check produces that number from your own assumptions rather than a generic figure.
Can you help newcomers to Canada start a business?
Yes. The business advisory is the same. Anything related to immigration status belongs with a regulated immigration consultant or lawyer, and we work alongside them. Our Canadian Market Entry consultation is a good starting point.
Do you help with marketing after launch?
Yes. Ali founded several marketing and technology agencies and takes fractional CMO seats. Early marketing, sales systems and the first customer pipeline are part of what we help founders build.
Start with a confidential conversation.
Tell Ali where the business is and what you want to happen next. You leave with a straight read on value, timing and the two or three moves that matter, whether or not we work together.