Home-Based niche wholesaler

Independent shops, gift stores, garden centres, salons, online sellers and small businesses that want smaller orders than big distributors will take.

You buy at a wholesale price and sell at a markup, usually with minimum order sizes. Repeat orders from regular shop customers are what build steady income.

• Finding and negotiating with suppliers
• Selling to business buyers
• Stock and order tracking
• Basic bookkeeping

• Check whether your municipality requires a home-based business licence and whether storing stock at home is allowed
• Register for GST/HST when you pass the small supplier threshold, and check your province's rules for sales tax on resale
• If importing, check customs duties, CBSA requirements and product safety and labelling rules (bilingual labelling, Quebec French rules)
• Stock ties up your cash, so start small and watch how fast items sell
• Check your home insurance for stock, and consider commercial general liability and product liability cover
• Offer payment terms to shops carefully, since late payers can hurt your cash flow

Estimates suggest startup costs are typically around $3,000 to $15,000, depending on your product niche and how much stock you buy. Stock ties up cash, so starting small and watching how fast items sell is sensible.

Monthly revenue is typically estimated at around $2,000 to $10,000, depending on your niche, order sizes and how many shops you supply. These are revenue figures before stock costs and other expenses.

Check whether your municipality requires a home-based business licence and allows stock storage at home. Also check GST/HST registration, provincial sales tax rules on resale, and, if importing, customs duties, CBSA requirements and product safety and labelling rules.