Small Business

Small businesses must have had it up to here with all the paperwork they've got to go through to be able to open their doors – and keep them open afterwards, so long as there is enough custom.

All that at a time when the prevailing thought is we should have gone paperless long ago.

Enter BizPaL. That's an online business permit and licence service that saves time spent on paperwork and helps entrepreneurs start up faster.

While general readers might question the need for licences and permits in the first place, they exist. And so long as we do not raise a revolution against them, might as well make the process as efficient as possible.

Let's face it, many of us suck at managing our money: we don't know the first about budgeting, we're in debt up to our eyeballs and we spend money like it's on fire.

In those cases, some of us call in the reinforcements and hire a money coach, unearthing our most shameful spending habits and our most debilitating psychological hang-ups around money -- all in an effort to correct them. With our most personal and private financial shortcomings, and all of the psychological or family issues they stem from, disclosed to our money coac these people better know what they're doing.

But the thing is...they don't have to. Anyone can become a money coach.

Related Links:

• Top 10 Exercises for Flexing Your Money Muscle (Numbers 1-5)
• Top 10 Exercises for Flexing Your Money Muscle (Numbers 6-10)
• Community Colleges Offer Money Management Courses for Young Adults

Arguably, one of the most interesting developments the internet has brought us is the ability to work remotely. Our offices can be wherever we are, but, even more dramatically, it's now possible to work and collaborate with people you might never have had access to in the past.

The cost savings can be dramatic: Instead of hiring a full-time writer, who will need office space, a telephone, internet access and benefits, a lot of employers outsource their writing tasks to freelancers, like yours truly. In turn, businesses like mine can take advantage of a global pool of talent to do everything from bookkeeping to virtual assistant work, at a fraction of the cost it would normally take to hire someone in person.

Hurray for leveled playing fields!

Gas prices are astronomical, car insurance is crazy expensive, parking is scarce and stories of mechanics and car salesman gouging their customers are a dime-a-dozen. Sometimes, car owners probably wonder why they have a car at all. There has to be a better way and, these days, there just might be.

It's called 'car sharing' and it's a model for car rental that has existed in Europe in various forms for decades and has just recently started becoming popular in North America. It's becoming a more economical option for businesses that need cars to visit clients and individuals who want aCcess to their own car, but drive less than 10,000 kilometers per year.

Basically, the customer pays either an annual or monthly fee, depending on the plan, plus a one-time application fee and an hourly or daily rate that is more expensive on weekends compared to weekdays and only applies when you're driving.

For example, ZipCar is a car sharing company available across the U.S., and in Toronto and Vancouver in Canada, and the Toronto location offers both an annual and monthly plan that breaks down as follows:

Forget "Yes We Can!" America's new slogan should be, "Yes We Caine!"

Perhaps Caine Monroy is America's most industrious nine-year-old, and had filmmaker Nirvan Mullick not stopped by Caine's dad's east L.A. autoshop to pick up a new door handle for his car, the world may have never discovered the genius that is Caine Monroy -- or at least, not this early in the boy's life.

The tax deadline is almost here. Tax season is never pleasant and most Canadians would rather get it over as quickly as possible. The question is, do Canadians take advantage of all tax breaks?

Adrienne K. Woodyard, a tax lawyer with Davis LLP, took time out of her day to answer a few questions about Canadians and taxes.

Have you ever been out somewhere and thought, I wish someone would bring me a coffee?

Well, now you can turn that thought into reality by harnessing the people power of the strangers you pass by everyday.

There are a few ventures popping up on the web that take advantage of the so called "mobile marketplace." These ventures take the "People are basically good" philosophy of eBay and combine it with the online classifieds aspect of Craigslist, while adding something entirely fresh and innovative.

Now, strangers from your community can be recruited in real-time through your mobile phone or direct through the website to complete tasks, provide services or exchange goods and all it takes is a negotiated electronic payment to the volunteer. Suddenly, you can hire someone to get what you need, or get what you need done, instantly and no cash has to physically change hands.

This is the concept behind the new mobile marketplace, but there are many online options to choose from and slight variations of the concept in each one, so let us help you sort out the three heavyweights in the market and outline the pros and cons of each one.

Related Links:

• Groupthink: Grading Group Discount Websites
• The New Currency is No Currency at All
• How to Sell Anything on Kijiji or Craigslist

Marc Springer used to sell Harley Davidson motorcycles, but then the economy took a dive and people didn't buy as many man toys as they used to. Springer's income was dwindling rapidly, so it was time for him to move on -- now what?

"I was a teamster truck driver back in my early 20s and I always had this burning desire to drive the big trucks. It was something I always wanted to do and it just never happened. So, when I began to strike out on my own I thought, 'Well, I've got zero income and zero working capital, how do I start a company?"

His wife reminded him that he had a leaf blower sitting in the garage and suggested he go clear the lawns in the neighbourhood. But Springer thinks big, so he began extrapolating how many employees he'd need to do all the surrounding neighbourhoods and quickly realized he'd need a trailer. But when he went on Craigslist looking for a trailer, he found a 1999 frieghtliner truck with a 20 foot flat-bed.

"They wanted $20,000 for the [trailer] and I thought, 'You know, I think I'm just going to buy a truck.'"

He booked a load the day he bought the truck and was just going to use his contacts in the scrap metal business to haul scrap metal in Seattle and the surrounding area, until he hit the internet and found a veritable trucker's Shangri-La.

"I was looking to fill the truck with scrap and I was doing pretty well at that, making decent money and one day, I was on the computer wondering, 'How do you find loads? There's got to be a better way to do this. How do these guys find the freight to get on their trucks?'"

That's when he stumbled onto uShip.com. It opened all the doors to all of the business opportunities he enjoys today, including becoming a reality TV star as the handlebar mustache sporting, big-rig driving, cast member of A&E's Shipping Wars.

Related Links:

• Free Shipping Day Comes to Canada
• Moving Day Scam - Busted!
• Gilt.com Now Ships to Canada

Many cities in Canada have placed their bets on casinos to help drive economic activity and stimulate development. With the economy continuing to sputter along, many places are looking to felt covered tables and one-armed bandits as saviours. Once thought of as 'Toronto The Good', Ontario's capital is the latest municipality thinking of going Vegas, but is the glitz and glamour all it's made out to be? Let's take a look at how a casino can help or hinder a city.

Tax Revenue
Gambling in Canada is big business. Last year, all legalized gambling contributed $13.7 billion in net revenue to governments. Casinos contributed 34% of that total. While this certainly sounds great, some research shows that governments that build casinos don't always spread their new wealth as expected. Instead of building roads and schools, for example, there is evidence that governments use gambling revenue on other priorities like debt reduction, which don't have the same immediate impacts on the people living in the shadow of the casino.