The Business Establishment Plan must be a coherent and well-thought-out plan for successful settlement and business development in Nova Scotia. The plan should demonstrate that the business meets the minimum required investment level and that the applicant will hold an active managerial position in the business. Additionally, it should show that the candidate has conducted extensive research into the economic, market, and cultural factors relevant to the proposed business.
The Business Establishment Plan must include a detailed Action Plan that outlines, step by step, the planned actions of the business over the next two to three years. These actions include but are not limited to: financial actions required to start or buy the business, anticipated start date of the business, when staff will be hired, timing of planned export activities, etc.
It is crucial that the applicant has complete knowledge and understanding of his or her Business Establishment Plan. In the event that the applicant is unaware of the plan’s contents, he or she may be deemed ineligible.
Regardless of whether the candidate intends to purchase an existing business or establish a new one, the Business Establishment Plan must touch on all of the following topics: the business idea, sales and marketing plan, exploratory visit (only in the case of business succession), critical factors, risk factors, investment/financial information, business relationships, and human capital.
The business idea section of the Business Establishment Plan must:
The sales and marketing plan section of the Business Establishment Plan must outline:
The exploratory visit is a requirement for all candidates intending to purchase an existing business rather than establish a new one. Applicants must create and submit a report on their visit as part of the Business Establishment Plan. The report must cover the entire length of stay in Canada (including time spent in other provinces) and should include:
This section of the business plan should identify any:
The NSOI will consider the potential for any risk factors of the proposed business and the candidate's ability to address them. These include, but are not limited to, whether the candidate is proposing external financing, or if he or she is proposing to invest more than 50 percent of his or her personal net worth.
The investment/financial section of the business plan should include:
In this section of the Business Establishment Plan, the candidate should provide:
This final section of the plan should outline:
Applicants are considered ineligible and should not apply under this stream if they;
The following types of business are ineligible: