Ottawa Home-based Business Guide
Ottawa Home-based Business Guide [ PDF Version 499KB ]
Message from Mayor Larry O’Brien
As residents of Ottawa, you already know that this is a wonderful community in which to live. If you are an entrepreneur, you should also know that it is a great city in which to do business.
Ottawa is a rich and diverse community that offers tremendous new business opportunities. Home-based businesses are uniquely positioned to tap into these opportunities while offering flexibility to meet individual interests, needs and lifestyle choices.
As the most connected city in Canada, access to high-speed Internet service is available throughout the entire city, including all our rural areas. This is a great advantage to home-based business owners, who can be connected no matter where they live in Ottawa. But Ottawa’s businesses are connected by more than just bandwidth – we have a rich infrastructure of business support, networking and training organizations that is second to none.
Based on a survey of OCRI Entrepreneurship Centre clients, some 1500 small businesses were created in Ottawa in 2006/07, resulting in 3000 new jobs. About two-thirds of these new businesses operate from home. I applaud each and every new entrepreneur who puts his or her ideas into action! Small businesses are not just employers – they are suppliers and consumers as well. They are a growing and vital component of our local economy and add a resilient and vibrant dimension to Ottawa’s business community.
Our community benefits from each new business, large or small, and I would like to congratulate and thank all the hard-working entrepreneurs who contribute to Ottawa’s success every day.
