Business Consulting for Canadian Firms, by Phone and Video

• Small and family-run firms

  Government small business research describes the great majority of Canadian employer businesses as small. Construction, professional and technical services, agriculture, forestry and fishing, and personal and repair services are named among the fields where small firms dominate. Most of these are run by an owner who is also the main salesperson and problem-solver.

• Resources and energy-linked services

  Natural Resources Canada says most of the country's proven oil reserves are in the oil sands. Around that sit drilling and field-service contractors, fabricators, trucking and camp suppliers, and the smaller firms that depend on their orders. Work tends to move with commodity prices, so many of these businesses see busy and quiet stretches.

• The Canada-US trade link

  Statistics Canada describes the United States as a major trading partner. Energy products are a big part of what goes south, and vehicles and parts a big part of what comes north. Parts makers, metal shops, carriers and customs brokers serve the flow. A firm with one main American buyer can feel a change in that buyer's plans very quickly.

• Manufacturing and professional services

  Beyond resources, Canadian owners run workshops, plants and offices that make components or sell expertise to other businesses. Accountants, engineers, architects, consultants and software teams are common examples. Their income often comes in project-sized pieces, which makes planning ahead harder than the steady monthly bills suggest.

• 01Field-service and fabrication firms often carry equipment and crews through quiet periods, then struggle to hire fast when orders return.
• 02Suppliers with one dominant American customer commonly face long payment terms and little room to negotiate, which can tie up cash for months.
• 03Small construction and trade businesses often depend on the owner for quoting, site decisions and client calls, so growth stalls at one person's capacity.
• 04Family-run firms commonly reach a point where the next generation, a manager or an outside buyer must take over, and the knowledge sits in the founder's head.

Eastern (Toronto): UTC-5 in winter, UTC-4 in summer. Eastern time in Canada matches US Eastern. The gap to India is 10 hours 30 minutes in winter and 9 hours 30 minutes in summer, with India ahead. Eastern daylight saving moves the gap by one hour for part of the year.

We book the first call once the scope of the problem is clear, so the conversation starts from your business and not from a calendar.

• Professional services
• Manufacturing
• Logistics
• Real estate and construction
• Agriculture

Trades to start from

• Oil and gas service companies
• Mining and quarrying companies
• Auto parts manufacturers
• Metal fabrication and laser cutting units
• Freight and transport companies
• Business consultants
• Architecture firms
• Turnkey construction companies

Worked examples on these pages use rupees and Indian business practice. The method carries over, and your first sheet is built from your own books in your own currency.

• Business Consulting

  A look at receivables and payment terms helps suppliers who sell mainly to a single large buyer see where their cash is waiting.

• Business Process

  Writing down how quotes, site visits and handovers run lets a small contractor delegate without losing control of quality.

• Business Strategy

  Owners whose income swings with commodity or export demand can test a second line of work before the slow season arrives.

• Business Coaching

  Regular calls give a founder in a family firm a place to plan succession, delegation and pay for senior staff.

1. First call by phone or video, to hear how your business runs and what is stuck.
2. A written scope that says what we will look at, what you will receive and what we need from you, with the fee written in your currency.
3. Your first sheet: the one page of numbers or decisions that the work starts from.
4. A review rhythm agreed with you, so the work is checked against what actually happened.

Tax, employment, immigration, licensing and regulatory questions stay with local professionals and the authority in Canada. Our advice stays on how the business is run.