Being an Entrepreneur in 2026 | January Round Up
- Chris Herbert
- 4 days ago
- 9 min read
Featured in this Post
Get Your Business AI-Ready: A Guide for Entrepreneurs
Bruce Power signs multi-year agreement with NPX to drive innovation and growth
Rural America is getting a bailout, but not from Trump—billionaires are riding to the rescue
More than 4,000 homes needed in Bruce County over next decade: Report
Government of Canada launches survey to develop action plan for rural communities
Get Your Business AI-Ready: A Guide for Entrepreneurs
This comprehensive guide from BDC addresses a critical gap in Canadian business: while Canada leads G7 nations in AI talent and research, only 9% of Canadian businesses have adopted AI solutions.
The guide provides a practical roadmap for entrepreneurs to assess their AI readiness and implement solutions effectively. The process begins with a thorough self-assessment of your business strategy, pain points, and current technology infrastructure.
Data preparation is essential—entrepreneurs should create inventories of their data assets, critical reports, and data flows before pursuing AI integration. Clean, well-organized data is foundational for any AI implementation beyond basic off-the-shelf tools.
When selecting solutions, business owners should prioritize based on business impact, strategic alignment, and feasibility rather than pursuing AI for its own sake.
The "buy vs. build" decision depends on your resources and needs: pre-packaged solutions offer convenience and lower costs, while custom-built solutions provide greater customization but require specialized expertise.
For successful deployment, the guide recommends establishing digital oversight, building data governance practices, and fostering an innovation-friendly culture. Change management and employee support are crucial—communicate early with stakeholders and ensure teams have adequate training.
The key takeaway for small business owners is to start small, focus on one high-impact solution, and build organizational capacity before expanding AI initiatives.
Are you part of the 91% of Canadian businesses not using AI? Book a meeting with Chris Herbert and he'll share with you some examples where you can start using AI in your business today.
Date: January 2026
Get Good at [AI] Agents
Nathan Lambert argues that the rise of AI coding agents like Claude Code represents a more significant shift than chat-based AI assistants.
While ChatGPT helped users get quick answers to existing problems, agents are fundamentally changing the question from "how do I solve this?" to "what should I work on?" now that AI can independently handle many implementation tasks.
The key insight for professionals is that traditional hard work is no longer a sustainable competitive advantage. When you can run multiple agents in parallel on your projects, your role shifts from wielding a power tool to directing an army.
Lambert's current workflow combines GPT 5 Pro for planning and Claude Code with Opus 4.5 for execution, often running agents asynchronously on tasks while away from his desk.
For entrepreneurs and business owners, the implications are clear: software development is becoming commoditized, making good decision-making in research, design, and product strategy more valuable than ever. Rather than using agents only for cleanup tasks, Lambert recommends giving them your hardest challenges to discover their true capabilities and limitations.
The article suggests that success in this new era requires cultivating mental clarity for better direction-setting, learning to scope larger and more ambitious projects, and embracing asynchronous workflows. Engineers must learn system design; researchers must learn to run labs. Agents are pushing humans up the organizational chart.
Date: January 21, 2026 | Source: Get Good at Agents
The Carney Doctrine: Between rhetoric and reality
Build Canada argues that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Davos speech landed because it said the quiet part out loud: the “rules-based order” is fraying, trade is becoming a tool of leverage, and supply chains are now pressure points—not just efficiency engines.
But the piece warns entrepreneurs not to confuse strong rhetoric with a workable plan. In a more transactional world, Canada’s credibility (and competitiveness) will be judged by capacity: can we approve projects, build infrastructure, procure equipment, train workers, and deliver outcomes quickly—rather than defaulting to endless consultation and symbolic announcements?
The practical business takeaway is to align your strategy with “execution-first” realities: invest in delivery capability (project management, compliance, procurement readiness), harden supply chains, and position for opportunities tied to national resilience (infrastructure, energy, defence-adjacent work) while staying alert to policy risk if the government can’t translate narrative into action.
The post also flags a near-term, founder-relevant file: Ottawa’s stated intent to restructure the Start-Up Visa program after incubator-stream abuses—implying future applicants may need more credible, investment-backed proof and faster, more selective processing.
Date: January 24, 2026 | Source: The Carney Doctrine: Between rhetoric and reality
Ontario Investing to Protect Rural Communities
Ontario is opening a new funding window that rural entrepreneurs should treat like a time-sensitive growth opportunity: the province has launched the second intake of the $20 million Rural Ontario Development (ROD) Program, announced at the 2026 ROMA conference, to strengthen rural economies, build local infrastructure, and keep workers employed.
Eligibility is broad—rural municipalities, businesses, Indigenous groups, and not-for-profits can apply—so small businesses don’t have to “go it alone” (partnering with your municipality, BIAs, CFDCs, or community foundations can strengthen an application). The current intake is open now and closes February 26, 2026 at 5 p.m. ET, which means projects need to be scoped, costed, and positioned quickly.
For practical fit, the program’s streams emphasize economic diversification/capacity building, workforce attraction/retention, community infrastructure enhancements, and business development—the last of which can include competitiveness upgrades like accessibility improvements, market expansion, and even cybersecurity initiatives.
The entrepreneurial playbook: pick a single constraint holding your business (or main street) back, quantify jobs/revenue impact, line up matching funds, and submit a “ready-to-execute” plan that shows why provincial dollars unlock durable local growth—not a one-off spend.
Date: January 19, 2026 | Source: Ontario Investing to Protect Rural Communities
The Truth About Family Offices and the New Farm Legacy
This Podcast features a conversation between agriculture experts discussing the evolution of Canadian farming and the importance of professional business management. The speakers reflect on past podcast guests, highlighting how successful CEOs and industry leaders often share humble roots within the agricultural community.
A significant portion of the dialogue focuses on the "family office" model, suggesting that treating land as a permanent legacy asset can help navigate the complexities of modern succession and consolidation.
They also address current industry challenges, including the need for infrastructure grants, the impact of government policy on international exports, and the benefits of executive training programs.
Throughout the exchange, the hosts emphasize that long-term strategic thinking and building strong internal teams are essential for a farm’s survival in a volatile global market.
The discussion concludes with a call for Canadian agriculture to adopt a more proactive, business-oriented mindset to ensure the sector remains competitive and resilient.
Date: December 10, 2025 | Source: The truth about family offices and the new farm legacy
Bruce Power signs multi-year agreement with NPX to drive innovation and growth
Bruce Power has renewed its Master Services Agreement with NPX (Nuclear Promise X), extending the partnership for five years in a deal valued at more than $50 million. The collaboration targets high-impact areas for the Bruce site—including innovation, artificial intelligence, project support, and advancing potential new nuclear generation—signaling sustained, multi-year demand for specialized services in the region.
NPX is also expanding its footprint in Bruce County with a new office in Port Elgin, at Powerlink, reinforcing that this work is expected to translate into local jobs and capacity.
For rural and regional entrepreneurs (including Grey-Bruce), the strategic takeaway is that “nuclear + AI + delivery” is becoming a durable growth lane: firms in engineering, industrial services, cybersecurity/data governance, training, construction support, and digital transformation should position now to plug into the supply chain.
Practically, that means tightening your compliance/QA culture, building partnerships with established primes and local innovators, and packaging your offering around measurable outcomes (uptime, safety, schedule certainty, cost savings) that large operators buy.
Date: December 2, 2025 | Source: Bruce Power signs multi-year agreement with NPX to drive innovation and growth
Research: Conventional Cybersecurity Won’t Protect Your AI
HBR’s point lands especially hard for small businesses because many already run their operations on Microsoft 365—and Microsoft is now actively pushing Microsoft 365 Copilot Business into the SMB market (under 300 users), embedded right inside Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams at an “SMB-friendly” price.
The risk: Copilot isn’t just another app to “secure with antivirus.” It’s an intelligence layer that can reach across email, files, chats, and internal knowledge—and new attack methods target how that AI retrieves and uses information, not just whether an employee clicks a bad link.
The article cites the June 2025 “EchoLeak” issue in Microsoft 365 Copilot, where sensitive data could be exposed without typical phishing-style user errors, underscoring that “conventional” defenses may miss AI-specific leakage paths.
For SMB owners rolling out Copilot, the practical playbook is: clean up SharePoint/OneDrive/Teams permissions (least privilege), reduce broad internal search exposure, tighten external sharing, and apply sensitivity labels/DLP so Copilot can’t surface what staff shouldn’t see.
Add governance that’s lightweight but real: an AI tool inventory, approved integrations/plugins only, logging, and periodic tests for prompt-injection/data-leak scenarios—because the weakest link may be your data sprawl, not your firewall.
Date: January 9, 2026 | Source: Research: Conventional Cybersecurity Won’t Protect Your AI
Rural America is getting a bailout, but not from Trump—billionaires are riding to the rescue
This article describes a U.S. pattern Canadian rural entrepreneurs should study—and actively replicate at home: when government responses are slow or fragmented, ultra-wealthy donors can rapidly strengthen the “building blocks” of rural economies (skills training, education access, local services, and community capacity).
It profiles Minnesota billionaire Glen Taylor, who is shifting roughly $100 million into a foundation designed to generate ongoing income for rural grants, and notes other major gifts aimed at expanding rural educational opportunity.
The Canadian takeaway is both a strategy and a challenge: Canadian deca-millionaires and billionaires (and their family offices) should adopt similar place-based, long-horizon models—evergreen rural prosperity funds, endowed assets that spin off annual grants, and partnerships with trusted regional nonprofits and community foundations—focused on measurable outcomes like workforce pipelines, broadband adoption, childcare capacity, and small-business scale-up support.
For entrepreneurs, the playbook is to come prepared with “fundable” proposals: define a concrete rural constraint, show how capital unlocks durable economic activity, and commit to metrics (jobs, apprenticeships, export growth, service coverage) so private money builds lasting competitiveness rather than one-off sponsorships.
Date: January 14, 2026 | Source: Rural America is getting a bailout, but not from Trump—billionaires are riding to the rescue
More than 4,000 homes needed in Bruce County over next decade: Report
Bruce County is planning for a decade of rapid growth and says it needs 4,040 new homes by 2036, with roughly 28% slated as deeply affordable or affordable—signaling that “missing middle,” rentals, and non-market housing will be as important as single-family builds.
The growth outlook is tightly linked to the region’s nuclear economy: Bruce Power’s long refurbishment program and the longer-term possibility of additional nuclear development are expected to keep labour demand high, which in turn raises the stakes on workforce housing, rentals, and temporary accommodation.
For rural entrepreneurs, this is both a constraint and an opportunity. Housing-delivery businesses (trades, small developers, modular/panelized builders, land servicing, infill/ADUs, property managers) can build a multiyear pipeline by lining up land, crews, and local partners now—especially for medium/high-density and purpose-built rental.
Non-housing firms should treat housing as a competitiveness issue: recruitment, retention, and project execution will increasingly depend on access to rentals and attainable ownership, so consider partnerships with municipalities, developers, and non-profits to support “shovel-ready” housing that keeps workers local.
Date: January 9, 2026 | Source: More than 4,000 homes needed in Bruce County over next decade: Report
Government of Canada launches survey to develop action plan for rural communities
The federal government (through Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada) has opened a national survey to shape a new rural development action plan, running from December 15, 2025 to February 6, 2026.
For entrepreneurs and small business owners in rural, remote, and northern areas, this is a direct chance to influence the programs and infrastructure that affect staffing, connectivity, transportation, housing, and access to capital.
The survey focuses on three practical areas: how to improve existing federal initiatives for rural realities, which programs (federal/provincial/territorial/regional) are already working well locally, and what policy changes or “nation-building” projects would most improve long-term sustainability—plus how success should be measured.
Strategically, treat your response like a mini business case: quantify constraints (e.g., broadband gaps, freight costs, labour shortages), identify the specific supports that would unlock growth (procurement access, training, childcare, permitting, financing), and propose measurable outcomes (jobs created, business starts, time/cost savings, population retention).
Consider coordinating with your chamber, RM, Indigenous partners, or sector association so multiple submissions reinforce the same priorities and increase the odds they appear in the final plan.
Date: January 3, 2026 | Source: Government of Canada launches survey to develop action plan for rural communities
What can Canadian entrepreneurs expect for 2026?
BDC expects 2026 to be a “mixed” year for Canadian entrepreneurs: modest GDP growth (around 1%) alongside ongoing trade uncertainty and rising operating costs, which will keep margins under pressure.
The most practical response is to run a tighter ship—track cash and margin drivers weekly, cut “hidden waste” (rework, overproduction, double entry, unnecessary meetings), and standardize key processes so teams execute consistently.
The article also flags a near-term opportunity window: Canada’s shifting priorities toward infrastructure, energy/electricity build-outs (including data-centre demand tied to AI), and defence-related supply chains—so businesses positioned as suppliers, contractors, or niche service providers should start mapping procurement pathways and partnerships now.
On the growth side, a wave of ownership transitions is coming as many owners near retirement; buyers can find attractive deals, but should de-risk with smarter structures (e.g., vendor notes and earn-outs) and ensure post-close “breathing room” in financing.
For founders seeking capital, expect cautious VC, longer fundraising cycles, and an emphasis on capital efficiency—plan runway accordingly while leaning into productivity tech (including AI) where it clearly improves throughput or customer service.
Date: December 19, 2025 | Source: What can entrepreneurs expect for 2026?
