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Video: Interior of the Canada Business Ontario office. Host One, a female in her mid-twenties to early thirties walks up to the camera while addressing the audience. The Canada Business Ontario banner is visible on the right.

Host One: Owning your own business and being your own boss is an exciting prospect that is appealing to a lot of people.

Video: Cuts to Host Two, a male in his mid-thirties to mid-forties, walking towards the camera while addressing the audience.

Host Two: Yet many new businesses don't succeed because of poor planning. It's important to have a focus, and to develop a plan for reaching your goals.

Video: A montage shows a woman doing research in a library, followed by a baker and a jeweler conducting retail transactions. The screen then cuts to the Canada Business Ontario identifier, which reads: Canada Business Ontario - Your Business Information Connection.

Host Two (voiceover): Whether you're starting a new business, growing an established company, or adapting to the changing economic landscape, Canada Business Ontario is your business information connection.

Video: We see a man on a computer, accessing the CBO website, followed by a close-up of a cursor descending through the list of Info-Guides on the website.

Host One (voiceover): Information on things like, starting a business, government financing programs, exporting, taxation or how to hire employees, are just some examples of what's available to you.

Video: Close-up of Host One.

Host One: So how does this all work?

Video: Close-up of the Canada Business URL (www.canadabusiness.ca) being entered into a browser, bringing up the splash page of the Canada Business website. The screen then switches to a close-up of a hand dialing the Business Info Line phone number (1-888-745-8888) on a cell phone.

Host Two: Visit canadabusiness.ca or call the Business Information Line at one triple eight-745-8888 and talk to a Business Information Officer.

Video: Close-up of a cursor selecting "Ontario" from a drop-down menu on the Canada Business website. Next, a montage shows a CBO representative assisting a client at a trade show booth, a young woman at a presentation, a close-up of CBO literature on a desk, a man and a woman working in an office, a Business Information Officer (onscreen text: "Business Planning", followed by "Market Research"), a woman accessing the CBO website on a computer (onscreen text: Sources of Financing), and a CBO presentation from the perspective of the audience.

Host Two (voiceover): CBO is a part of the national Canada Business Network. It provides accurate, timely and relevant business information to entrepreneurs like you. It's the first stop for anyone starting or growing a business in Ontario, and can help you with business planning, specialized market research, financing and other government programs and service information.

Video: A montage shows a woman getting a book from a library shelf, a man on his laptop, a man talking on a cell phone, a man making a purchase in a bakery, bread-making machinery, a factory worker, a waitress picking up an order, a clerk in a sporting goods store helping a customer, and a man and a woman working in an office.

Host One (voiceover): Financing is essential to the viability of any business. It is what you need to set up and operate your business. Once your business is established, financing can help you grow. You may need financing to buy equipment and supplies, to hire staff or pay overhead costs. Having working capital will also allow you to take advantage of opportunities that may come up.

Video: Close-up of the Government grants, loans and financing section of the Canada Business website, as a cursor selects "Start or buy a business" from a list of options under the "Purpose of Financing" heading. The user then scrolls down the page to reveal other categories, such as "Business Location", which already has Ontario selected, and "Demographic Group", where the cursor selects "Rural and northern residents". The user submits the form, and we see the results of their search for financing.

Host One (voiceover): Through Canada Business Ontario you have access to a comprehensive database of all federal and provincial programs available to small businesses. For example, the Canada Small Business Financing Program can help you access funds for your business.

Video: Close-up of Host One, standing on a busy city sidewalk.

Host One: There are many possibilities out there, so it pays to do some research. The best place to start is by understanding the different types of financing to determine which one is right for you.

Video: Cuts back to a wide shot of Host One.

Host One: From personal lines of credit, to banks, investors, Community Futures Development Corporations, or small business financing programs.

Video: A split screen is shown, with the left side showing an entrepreneur calling the CBO call centre, and the right side showing the call centre employee assisting her.

Host One (voiceover): Whatever your needs, you will find information that will help you grow your business.

Video: A montage shows a woman in a library, a carpenter preparing to trim a piece of wood, a man in a computer lab, a woman cutting fabric, and a woman making a purchase in a bakery.

Host Two (voiceover): If you're starting a new business, and are looking for financing, your business plan is an essential part of your proposal. For possible investors, it's the document that sells your idea, demonstrates its potential, and is the blueprint of how you can make it work over the long haul.

Video: We see an entrepreneur typing at a computer. This cuts to a close-up of a computer screen. The following points are typed out as the host mentions them:

Host Two (voiceover): Your business plan should include:

• A brief summary of your plan
• A description of your business idea
• Your marketing and sales strategy
• And, details on how your business will operate, including:
  • Human Resources and
  • Financial Forecasts

Video: Close-up of a woman typing at a computer, which then cuts to a close-up of the Canada Business website, as a search is conducted for the term "market research".

Host Two (voiceover): Through CBO, you also have access to specialized market research services.

Video: As the camera then pans left, to the results of the search for "market research", a voiceover from Host One begins. The screen then switches to a close-up of a hand dialing the Business Info Line phone number (1-888-745-8888) on a cell phone. We then see a Business Information Officer assisting the client, followed by a shot of the client, a young man, on his cell phone.

Host One (voiceover): All you need to do is visit the website, or call the Business Information Line, to speak with a CBO Business Information Officer. Information Officers can help you put together an information package tailored specifically to your business.

Video: A montage shows a chocolatier assisting a customer, a coffee shop employee at a cash register, a close-up of population statistics for Mississauga and Ontario on the Statistics Canada website, a construction worker, a man on a cell phone, a welder, CBO employees assisting a client at a trade show booth, a close-up of people attending a presentation, a wide shot panning left to right of a street with many shops, the front of a shoe store, a woman looking through a rack of clothes in a clothing store, a close-up of boots in a shoe store, a man and a woman working in an office, and a woman looking through a catalogue and writing on a sheet.

Host One (voiceover): They can help you research information such as:

• Knowing potential customers
• Canadian demographics and consumer spending data
• Identifying your potential competitors
• Finding suppliers, manufacturers and distributors
• Locating industry associations
• Information on the best location to open your business
• How to price and advertise your product or services
• International trade data, importing and exporting

Video: Host One is standing in the fruit and vegetable section of a grocery store.

Host One: Good market research can help your business succeed, and when you're looking for the answers, Canada Business Ontario is the place to go.

Video: Close-up of the Business Guides page on the CBO website, as a cursor descends through the list of Info-Guides, then makes its way to the left-hand menu, where it descends through the list of languages in which the multilingual documents are available.

Host: The best part? All this information is available to you at no cost. Popular topics are available in over ten languages and the information is easy to access.

Video: Shot of Host One walking down a hallway in the CBO office, as she addresses the audience. The website URL and the phone number appear at the bottom of the screen when she mentions them.

Host One: Visit canadabusiness.ca or call the Business Information Line at one triple eight-745-8888 and talk to a Business Information Officer.

Video: Host Two, standing in front of two CBO banners, is joined by Host One.

Host Two: Get started on the road to building a successful business.

Host One: Get in touch today!

Video: The Canada Business Ontario identifier (Canada Business Ontario, Your Business Information Connection) appears onscreen, along with the website address (CanadaBusiness.ca), the Business Info Line number (1.888.745.8888), and the TTY number (1.800.268.7095). The Ontario logo, Industry Canada identifier and Canada Wordmark are also shown at the bottom of the screen.

Logo: Canada Wordmark