“Know your market. A business plan isn’t just for the banks! A lot of time should be taken researching your business. Support is offered by many levels of government and private organizations to help you. Also, consider co-working. If you’re on your own and can join a community like HUB and CSI, the benefits are considerable. Get involved and meet fellow entrepreneurs and organizations big and small to share business ideas and find opportunities to help each other grow.”

“The Futurpreneur Canada mentoring program is crucial to help business start-ups. We have to keep on helping and stimulating young entrepreneurs to encourage economic growth in Canada. It is a win-win situation for everyone, and creates jobs in the region. Youth entrepreneurs are the future of our communities. ”

“My mentor, Lise Malo, contributes to my personal and business development. She encourages me to think, leading me to make the right decisions for my business’ future, and to reach my short and long-term goals. It is motivating and reassuring to benefit from the advice of someone who has her expertise.”

“For people thinking about becoming an entrepreneur – do it. Embrace your creativity, let go of fear, accept the uncertainty, realize failure is a means to learning and work on painting your own picture of the future.”

“Being a mentor is a really rewarding experience and I urge people to consider becoming one. I have become a better manager and achieved better business results because of Futurpreneur Canada. I never expected to gain so much for being a mentor. I thought I was going to do the giving. Being a Futurpreneur Canada is one of the smartest things I have ever done!”

“My mentor, Ryan Henry, helped me stay focused on my goals. Since I can be very ambitious as a day dreamer, sometimes a reality check helps. Discussing my business vision and strategic goals with an active listener helped set realistic goals to achieve them.”

“My mentor, Kevin’s realistic and enthusiastic outlook gives me the confidence and knowledge I need throughout the ups and downs of starting and running a business. His expertise, connections and experience are powerful resources that are preventing me from learning everything the hard way.”

“It is so rewarding to help someone succeed. If you have helped someone at work become a better employee, then you have mentored someone. It takes very little time and the knowledge you have is important to the protege.”

“My biggest advice would be to deeply evaluate what you want to accomplish as an entrepreneur before starting. You’ll face many difficult times and that’s the only way to keep going. Be passionate about what you’re doing. Join different networks and talk about your idea with as many people as possible. You need to go outside yourself and challenge your idea! And most importantly, take your time. I feel that when you have money, you’ll go faster but then your idea does not have enough time to evolve.”