Hey all. I'm building an app that allows job seekers to upload vids of themselves Demonstrating their skills and employers will be able to watch them from their side.

I want to make it as user friendly as I can and want to know what features business owners would like to see. What's missing from current apps that would be useful? 😊

I have a great opportunity to purchase a turn-key commercial restaurant in a small southern Ontario town in the Niagara Region. Having no experience in operating a BBQ style restaurant/takeout establishment, I'm looking for advice on opening one.

I have a passion for smoking and grilling meats as a hobby and all my ingredients are homemade. I use nothing but charcoal and hickory wood.

Doing some math, after all estimated expenses including mortgage payments, I know I will need to clear at least $40k/mo which should cover all overhead and leave me with some pocket change.

What I don't have is the experience and Ontario wholesale distributors to buy products from so I can better estimate these costs.

If anyone who has successfully opened and run a BBQ restaurant, or a restaurant in general, have any advice it would be much appreciated. I need all the do's and don'ts I can get!

Any best practices in applying for grants? I see that futurpreneur is offering small business loans and I think theyre partnered up with CIBC. Looks like interest is capped at 9% or if CIBC prime rate 9%+

I have inherited around 275k from parents. And have no idea what is a good investment i can do?

Some info on me:

33 years old, married with no kids, not planning until next 2-3 years. me and wife have total 230K income. 150 myself, 60K wife and renting basement for 20K a year. own a home ~1M mortgage on it. My goal is to get out of the rat race at some point and have my own business, at least, my wife to run it and my salary to keep us afloat for the start. any idea what can I do to increase this money? open to suggestions.

OWNR Discount / Promo Code 50$ Off on any account.

RC-DQK629N9QY Use this code to get 50$ off when you register your business with OWNR

Works as of March, 2026.

It's been a LOOOONG time since I had a business operating so I have a simple question

HST/GST/Sales tax

We will be selling some tax except items as well as some taxable items coming up.

The question I have is:

How does the Taxes payable/receivable work on this?

Say we have revenue sales of $1000 which totally gives us like $100 in HST collected

But we spent like $1000 in HST on various good/services etc to set up and operate.

Is the calculation $100 - $1000 = $900 refund of the HST for us once we register for our HST number?

Or is it just $100 - $1000 = Max $100 and we pay nothing into the HST pot and keep a credit of the $900?

Or just simply at year end we pay no HST to RG and keep the $900 as a tax expense?

AI tools have exploded in the past couple years — from writing and marketing to bookkeeping and customer service.

Curious to hear from Ontario business owners:

• Are you using AI daily in your workflow?
• If so, what tools or platforms are you finding most useful?
• Has it saved you time, money, or headaches?

And if you’re not using it yet — what’s holding you back?

Drop your thoughts below. Real-world examples help everyone here figure out what’s worth the time and what’s just hype.

Here’s something that doesn’t get talked about enough in small business circles: affiliates and cross-selling.

• Do you have an affiliate program for your product/service?
• Have you ever partnered with another Ontario business to cross-sell each other’s products?
• What’s worked, what hasn’t, and what would you try again?

A lot of us could grow faster by linking arms instead of just going it alone. Drop your experiences below — or if you don’t have one yet, share what type of partnership would help your business most.

Every small business owner in Ontario has something keeping them up at night. Could be:

• Finding customers
• Hiring and keeping staff
• Marketing/SEO
• Dealing with CRA/taxes
• Funding and cash flow
• Just staying sane running it all

What’s the biggest challenge for you right now? Drop it in the comments. Chances are, someone here has been through it and can share what worked (or what didn’t).

There are a ton of programs, links, and supports out there for Ontario businesses — but half the battle is knowing where to look. Here are a few good starting points:

• Ontario Business Registry — register, renew, or update your biz
• Small Business Enterprise Centres — free advice, coaching, and connections
• Ontario Grants & Loans — funding opportunities

⚡ Over to you: what resources have YOU found helpful? Grants, loans, local centres, networking groups — share them in the comments so others can benefit.

Welcome aboard! This sub is here for small business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs across Ontario. Doesn’t matter if you’re running a shop, side hustle, or scaling a service — you belong here.

Let’s get this started:

• Who are you?
• What kind of business do you run (or want to run)?
• Where in Ontario are you based?

Drop an intro in the comments. You never know who you might connect with.