Written by
February 17, 2021
Need Money to launch your business online?
Many “brick-and-mortar” small/medium business owners were caught by surprise when COVID-19 hit us hard, back in 2020!
Some had no plans to do business online at all and others just scrambled to get anything done as quickly as possible so that they can continue to serve their clients, they used whatever was available to them within the time and cost constraints.
Now is the best time to properly launch your business online
I don’t need to ask you to look around to see how the landscape is changing and many of the shops & restaurants we loved are quickly disappearing!
Target/Hudson’s bay and in the Tricities: Brewstreet Kitchen and UrbanGate (the restaurant/sports bar part)
But does jumping quickly on the Shopify bandwagon work? Is it the best option?
If you are not a techie, you probably have a hundred questions right now, and I would love to help you get answers:
First, let’s look at where the money is going to come from:
I am happy that the government of British Columbia is helping the business community with this!
They have a grant of up to $7,500 to help the owners of small and medium businesses launch their online stores and engage in digital marketing, after you apply online you should get the decision within 3 weeks.
UPDATE: They have also added one more option that is eligible for the grant which is “Building an Online Booking System”
This grant covers up to 75% of the expenses you spend on:
- Hiring a professional web designer/developer to build and launch your eCommerce store
- The purchases of stock images, or hiring a photographer to take product photos
- SEO work & content writing
- Staff training (to run an online store)
- And Facebook ads too!
In this short video (below) & post, I share my screen and go over the eligibility criteria, step-by-step.
my aim is to help you qualify and of course, help you build the online/e-commerce business of your dreams, now that funding is available!
Here’s a link to download the Grant Program Guide.
This great for any business that has “repeatable products” (clothes/bread/sweets/accessories) to sell even if they are in “digital format” like online courses (courses/video training that is already made and ready to be consumed/repeated – not live zoom calls or webinars)
So before you rent some space on a network like “Square” or “Shopify” or go the WooCommerce way – where you have full-control, Speak to a Professional so that you are aware of all the pros and cons of each platform and how to plan for the long-term growth of your business online.
I am always happy to help (no strings-attached!)
Our clients get a detailed proposal highlighting the scope of the project as per the Grant’s criteria.
UPDATE:
The government of BC has extended the deadline beyond the 31st of March 2021 and have also added one more option that is eligible which is “Building an Online Booking System”
You will qualify If you do not currently have an online booking system or you have one no more than three of the five identified online booking features optimized:
- Customer registration and information security features
- Schedule navigation and reservation management capabilities
- Payment processing options including application of appropriate taxes at time of ordering, if applicable
- Automated replies and reminders
- Website analytics and reporting capabilitiesFor more information check out the grant’s website: https://launchonline.ca/
Wishing you all the best.
Amr – The Internet Guy!
Here’s a quick video about the eligibility
(p.s. this was based on the old criteria before expanding it)
5/5
With 5 stars rating, we are calling this a solid Service!
Business and Digital Marketing Resources:
Online S2E2, How to get the best e-commerce results, selling on Amazon
Online with Amr The Internet Guy, season 2, Episode 2, How to get the best e-commerce results, and how to master selling on Amazon – with my Guest Dr. Travis Zigler.
Online! EP 20, Small Business Marketing that WORKS, with Eric Dingler
This episode is part 1 of 2 episodes in this series focused on business and marketing strategies that work, this is the small and medium business marketing special!
In this episode, my guest Mr. Eric Dingler shares marketing tips & tricks, business experience, real-life results, and the strategies that worked for him, his companies, and his clients!
Online! EP 20, Small Business Marketing that WORKS, with Eric Dingler
This episode is part 1 of 2 episodes in this series focused on business and marketing strategies that work, this is the small and medium business marketing special!
In this episode, my guest Mr. Eric Dingler shares marketing tips & tricks, business experience, real-life results, and the strategies that worked for him, his companies, and his clients!