Resources available for small businesses in northwest.

Small businesses in northwestern Ontario have a place to turn to for free advice and information on everything from writing a business plan to exporting.

The Canada-Ontario Business Service Centre (COBSC) offers direct access to comprehensive information and advice about starting a business, expanding an existing business and about federal and provincial government services that are in place to assist business, Margaret Yussack, COBSC business information officer says. COBSC is associated with Development Thunder Bay and complements other existing business programs and services available in the community and region.

"One of the essences of COBSC is its resource library,". Yussack says. "We have a small business library accessible at any time and two public access (computer) stations equipped with business planning software and specialized databases."

Small it may be, but Yussack says the library is nonetheless impressive because its books are current and relevant to clients' needs.

The centre is also equipped with Info-Guides, a collection of booklets that detail federal and provincial government programs, services and regulations that may apply to individuals starting a business in Ontario.

There are 1,400 Info-Guides currently available through COBSC's database, Yussack says.

"They cover the whole business spectrum, from starting up to exporting."

She says about 80 per cent of the people passing through the office are there to get information on starting up a new business, but adds more and more people are now looking for information on exporting and the Internet.

Walk-in services at COBSC regional access sites like the one in Thunder Bay are available to anyone who is interested in starting a new business or expanding an existing venture, Yussack says. Secondary sites, dubbed Tier 2 sites, also provide business information and free access to a computer, the Internet, a business reference library and a collection of digital information resources, but Tier 2 sites are typically housed in community economic development offices and are not staffed by a business information officer.

There are a number of other ways to access COBSC's information as well, such as calling an interactive voice response system an info-fax line or a call centre. COBSC also has a Web site at www.cbsc.org/ontario.

Yussack says Thunder Bay's COBSC has seen a noticeable increase in traffic over the past year. The office, which opened in April of 1998, served nearly 2,000 people last year alone.

"Walk-ins, e-mails and general inquiries are way up this year already," she says, crediting the increase in clients to the fact that more people are hearing about the centre an the services it provides.

She says the centre has bean working more on promoting itself to the community and especially to high schools "to promote youth entrepreneurship."

A new interactive business planner is among the unique services COBSC is now offering its clients. The product allows users to access and modify their own personal business plan via any computer terminal with Internet access.

"We're hoping that will really take off," she says. "It's like Hotmail; a person can write a business plan on any computer. It has examples (of business plans) and prompts and its (format) is accepted by all major (financial institutions)."

The software is even being used in local schools by teachers who are incorporating business-plan writing in their business courses, Yussack says.

The software is free, and all information is kept confidential because it ueses a requires password system.

Aside from its in-house assistance, COBSC also takes its services on the road, delivering standard presentations and customized presentations to groups in Thunder Bay and across the northwest, from Atikokan to Marathon.

"We go to each of the communities about twice a year," Yussack says. "We're also formalizing agreements with regional economic development offices and chambers of commerce to make more presentations and to try to go to big gatherings" and hit everyone all at once.

Because it is a Tier 1 site, staff from. Thunder Bay's COBSC are also responsible for training at Tier 2 sites in the region.

COBSC in Thunder Bay works in partnership with Development Thunder Bay and the Thunder Bay and Area Business Self Help Office. All three offices are accessible on the Internet at www.developthunderbay.com.