Halifax is the capital of Nova Scotia and given the size of the economy in these parts, the government plays a very proactive role in trying to boost and support the economy here. They are particularly keen to encourage entrepreneurs and work with them to help their businesses.

My problem with Business Link in the UK has been that I have found them to be very poor whenever I have had to deal with them (I would simply get rid of business link altogether if it was up to me) and no one who has used their services has ever told me anything different.

I have enjoyed working with agencies like the London Development Agency or New East Manchester when they ‘skip’ the middle man and broker solutions directly. One of the issues I have always found with Business Link is that they seem to be staffed by people who do not have the first clue about running a business and seem to forget that the businesses they are supposed to help are their clients. (Ouch – there seems to be some personal issues on my side here and I should add that my experience is limited to Business Link, London)

The staff from government bodies I have met so far in Halifax seem to be similar to the ones I have met in Manchester. They ‘get’ business and are really receptive to ideas. They don’t seem to spend ages writing a manual and then look for people to deliver the manual – they are really proactive at asking people like me for ideas.

If you are an entrepreneur working in the high tech area (in any field) you should go ‘jurisdiction’ shopping. By this I simply mean you should look around at what support is available to you from government resources. The UK is going to be a pretty miserable place for the next 10 years or so. Government borrowing is simply huge – and is deferred taxation. Taxes are rising steeply for those whose incomes are over £100,000 a year and taxes will remain high. Whilst I have called the bottom of the market, the recovery will be slow and steady.

You may just decide that another country may offer you better support. And if you are relying on savings to see you through the first year or two, another country may help that money stretch further. (I have learnt that living in Canada is a lot cheaper than living in the UK – about half the sterling cost) and I know that the provincial government in Nova Scotia can offer lots of support.

All I am saying is shop around – you are in demand!

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