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Step 1: Education
16 short videos on how the Canada Small Business Financing Program actually works. About thirty minutes total. The education is free, and required before we open an application account in your name.
This is a government-and-banking process, not a sales process.
Lenders follow rules. The program follows rules. Applications that ignore the rules don’t get funded. It’s that simple.
Understanding the “why” changes how you prepare.
Once you know why lenders ask for what they ask for, your documentation gets better, your answers get sharper, and your file moves through review faster.
Thirty minutes now saves weeks of confusion later.
We’d rather you spend that time upfront, with clear context, than spend weeks bouncing between unclear emails and misunderstood requests.
Some viewers will decide the SBL isn’t for them.
That’s a good outcome. Nobody benefits from a business owner gathering months of paperwork for a program that doesn’t fit.
Understanding the process leads to success. Not following it leads to discouragement and failure. The videos are how we make sure you’re on the right side of that line.
The series
Click any episode to play. About thirty minutes total across the full series.
E1
Why the Small Business Loan exists, what it actually pays for, and where it sits among the financing options Canadian owners have.
What you’ll know after this video
E2
The mechanics of the Canada Small Business Financing Program, Industry Canada’s role, the lender’s role, and how the government guarantee actually works.
What you’ll know after this video
E3
How the SBL program treats brand-new businesses, what counts as eligible before you have history, and what the program won’t fund at the startup stage.
What you’ll know after this video
E4
The eligibility test in plain English. Revenue caps, eligible activities, ineligible sectors, and the credit-history factors that actually move the needle.
What you’ll know after this video
E5
Why misstatements, even small ones, cost more than you save. How underwriters cross-check, what triggers a deeper look, and the consequences when something doesn’t add up.
What you’ll know after this video
E6
What underwriting actually looks like from the lender’s side, why it takes longer than you’d like, and how preparing well shortens the round-trip.
What you’ll know after this video
E7
How your credit history shapes the SBL underwriting decision. What lenders actually pull, which scores matter, and which credit issues are deal-breakers vs. recoverable.
What you’ll know after this video
E8
Why lenders ask you to put your own money in the deal. Equity injection rules, what counts as skin in the game, and how the program structures the borrower’s contribution.
What you’ll know after this video
E9
The asset categories the CSBFP will fund (equipment, leasehold improvements, real property) and the categories it explicitly will not.
What you’ll know after this video
E10
The CSBFP excludes some industries entirely and treats others differently. What’s eligible, what’s ineligible, and the gray-area sectors that hinge on activity classification.
What you’ll know after this video
E11
Personal guarantees on SBL loans. What the program requires by law, what is negotiable, and how it compares to a conventional loan.
What you’ll know after this video
E12
Every fee in the SBL stack (registration, administration, interest, prepayment) explained, totaled, and compared to what conventional financing would cost.
What you’ll know after this video
E13
The documents and decisions you need ready before walking into your lender. Corporate, personal, financial, and operational.
What you’ll know after this video
E14
The collateral and guarantee structure on an SBL loan. What is pledged, how the security registers, and what happens if the loan defaults.
What you’ll know after this video
E15
What happens between approval and money in the bank. Closing requirements, asset-purchase mechanics, and the registration step that finalizes the guarantee.
What you’ll know after this video
E16
Why the program exists, what it has done for Canadian small business since 1961, and how it fits into your long-term financing plan.
What you’ll know after this video
You cannot start the application until you have watched every video above and confirmed, with the checkbox below, that you understand the content. This is intentional. The Canada Small Business Financing Program is a government and banking process with real rules, and applications that ignore the rules do not get funded.
Your progress
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The button above takes you to a short qualifying questionnaire, a handful of hard-rule eligibility checks. If your answers pass, the next step is the email and Terms of Service gate.