I own a few small businesses. If you are looking to buy one rather than start one from scratch the primary sources of opportunities are 1) online: canada.businessesforsale.com, 2) Business brokers or 3) direct. The small business market is very opaque, meaning the best deals never make it to online or brokers and successful sales are never published. If you enjoy the search this won't be a problem but you have to search vigilantly to find an opportunity, and you will have to get proficient at knowing when a business is a bad opportunity and to weed them out quickly. Gets easier with practice. The best opportunities are direct, but those are the hardest to find. You will be shocked at the lack of professionalism and knowledge in the business brokerage community and how shady some of them are. Online is 99% junk so you have to sift through the postings regularly. The Harvard business review published a pretty good book on the whole process which i would definitely recommend reading. It's called "HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business". It's available on amazon for $25, could be the best money you spend. Overall, buying a small business is a challenging but fulfilling process in my opinion. If you can find a gem hidden in the slag it will be worth your while. More on reddit.com

Aren’t 99% of them just selling business name and inventory. They are selling because they cant afford rent. More on reddit.com

A strange but wonderful website is pin.ca . It looks like it was made in the 90’s and its been online for decades. He’s some kind of business broker that helps people evaluate and sell their businesses. Don’t know what the guy is like so I can’t recommend him. However, there’s a list of businesses for sale. Last time I looked, it was hidden on the top right of their menu - “businesses for sale.” Click on it and you’ll find a mish mash of crazy stuff (farms, properties, restaurants, window businesses, plumbing, scams, etc.) Everything from camps, funeral homes, cabins, businesses, etc. There are links by province, recent listings, etc. There doesn’t seem to be much rhyme of reason but damn - I’ve found some crazy good deals in the past. Just make sure you do your due diligence and watch out for the properties in small towns. I once grabbed a great deal on a commercial building but years later had trouble selling it… great rental but eventually turned into a hassle. Either way, good luck finding a business. It’s fun buying a business, fixing it’s marketing, improving it’s team culture, ramping it’s sales, and then selling it. More on reddit.com

Start a grocery store so you can rape and pillage like loblaws sobeys or metro. Compete with them. Kick their ass. That sh*t is a liscence to print money. More on reddit.com