Research Guides: ENTR 2P91: Entrepreneurship: Organizational Feasibility

Organizational Feasibility Analysis

Organizational Feasibility Analysis includes the assessment of:

management prowess: what is the ability of the initial management team?
resource sufficiency: what nonfinancial resources such as human resources (management, employees), facilities/location, equipment, intellectual property protection, etc. are required?

If you are starting a specific type of small business, such as a restaurant or a retail store, there are often 'how to' books that might answer these types of questions. Try searching the Library's Omni search tool for relevant titles.

Management Prowess

Entrepreneurial Potential Self Assessment (BDC)
BDC's entrepreneurial potential self-assessment test consists of 50 statements and only takes 10 minutes to complete.

Human Resources

Do you require employees with specialized skills? How hard will it be to recruit key employees? Consult these sources for more insight:

Data Dashboards (Labour Market Information Council)
-> Canadian Online Job Posting Dashboard
-> Post-secondary Graduate Earnings
Job Bank - Labour Market Information (Government of Canada)
Understand the labour market in Canada. Explore job market trends by location or by industry.
Niagara Workforce Planning Board Local Labour Market Planning Report 2020-2021
The report profiles: Industries in Niagara; Who is Living and Working in Niagara; Occupations in Which Niagara’s Residents are Engaged; Measures of Available Labour Supply; Employer Challenges and Opportunities in 2020 (published Feb. 24/2021)
Workplace Insights (Robert Half Canada)
Robert Half is an international human resources consulting firm. Their Insights page helps HR professionals stay on top of recruiting, job market, and workplace trends through reports and research.

Facilities / Location & Production / Operations

The following sources can help when assessing production and operating requirements for your new product or service as well as the availability of affordable office, retail, manufacturing, of other types of spaces:

Commercial Real Estate Listings and Data Sources
Selected links from the Entrepreneurship Research Guide
Operations (BDC)
BDC offers advice on assessing operational efficiency, purchasing, inventory management, etc.

Sourcing Products, Equipment & Suppliers

Consult one of the following Canadian trade directories in order to identify companies that manufacture or distribute industrial products and services. Most directories allow you to search by company, product, or brand name, or to browse by category.

Capterra Software Product Listings
Canadian B2B Network (Canadian Chamber of Commerce)
Search or browse this B2B directory for businesses providing products and services in industries across Canada. Can filter by location, industry type, or services offered.
Frasers Directory
"Frasers is a comprehensive directory and search tool, providing information on Canadian industrial wholesalers, manufacturers, distributors and their products and services. In addition, we list international companies that supply goods and services to the Canadian marketplace. Search our Frasers database by company, product or brand name, or find a specific item on any of listed company websites by selecting our Industrial Search, or view company listings by searching our Directory of Companies" (Frasers.com)
more info...close...
You can also search for articles in trade journals in Frasers.
Kompass
A worldwide directory of business and commercial companies with information on their products and services for businesses seeking suppliers or import/export sources.

Library Databases:

Canadian Manufacturer's Database (via Nexis Uni)
This database incorporates the Canadian Trade Index and lists Canadian manufacturers, distributors, and industrial service companies. Profiles include details on the company size (number of employees), key officers and directors, industry codes, products, markets, and annual sales. [Technical note: use Internet Explorer or Chrome].

Incorporation, Intellectual Property & Other Legal Issues

The following sources provide information on business structures (e.g., incorporation), laws & regulations, business names, business permits, & business licenses, in Canada:

Canada's Business Registries
Search by name for businesses (including nonprofit corporations) registered in Canada. The information is from the official registries of Alberta, British Columbia, Corporations Canada, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec.
BizPal (website)
This is a free online business permits and licensing service. Use it to determine which licenses you will need to operate your business in Canada.
more info...close...
"Launched in 2005, BizPaL is jointly managed by a partnership involving governments at the federal, provincial, territorial and municipal levels. Provinces, territories and hundreds of municipalities have collaborated together to provide you with the permits and licences that may be required to start and grow your business."
Business Regulations Guide (FedDev Ontario Small Business Services)
Federally regulated industry sectors (Government of Canada)

Intellectual Property: Copyright, Trademarks, Patents, & Industrial Designs

Canadian Information Sources:

Canadian Intellectual Property Office (Government of Canada)
Learn about intellectual property and search the CIPO databases for patents, trademarks, copyright and industrial designs.
Intellectual Property Basics (Government of Canada)
Learn about intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, copyright, industrial design and integrated circuit topographies, and how they can protect your business.
Intellectual Property (MaRS Discovery District Library)
A curated collection of resources on Intellectual Property for startups: including Starting Out; IP 101: Patents: Copyright & Trademarks, IP Agreements; IP Strategy.

Mobile App Developers And Intellectual Property

Canadian Legal Information Sources:

IP Issues for Mobile App Developers (Oyen Wiggs)
"This article outlines some basic intellectual property issues and related precautionary measures that app developers may wish to consider". The author, Amy Fong, is a Senior Associate with Oyen Wiggs, a Canadian law firm.
Your first patent application, what you need to know (Oyen Wiggs)
"This article discusses some considerations for deciding where and what to file as the first application", Amy Fong is a senior associate with Oyen Wiggs, a Canadian law firm.

U.S. Legal Information Sources:

Intellectual Property Licensing

What is Licensing? Find out by reading these topic overviews:

Plan Your IP Strategy (Government of Canada)
Provides an overview of how product licensing works: licensing your intellectual property to other businesses, or licensing someone else's product.
The Basics of Brand Licensing (Licensing Journal)
The article discusses the basics and processes involved in brand licensing. The two components of brand licensing and why companies brand their products and services to convey a level of quality, reliability and durability is provided. Ideas on how companies can use licensing to enter new categories and the expectations of licensors and licensees in the process are also explained.

Licensing (Encyclopedia of Sports Management & Marketing)
"In a business context, licensing is the renting of an intangible asset—intellectual property, the rights to which are owned by the licensor—to a licensee through an arrangement with the licensor. For instance, a t-shirt company may wish to use a trade-marked logo or other design on its t-shirts, and seek a licensing agreement with the owner of the logo; in this case, the benefit to the licensor is simply the revenue generated as part of that agreement, typically a royalty on sales".