Business Resources

Penticton is a social community with robust networking and business groups. Here are some resources to help you reach your business goals.

Penticton's Economic Development Office

The Economic Development Office is based in Penticton City Hall and provides information, research, intelligence and support to businesses with a specific focus on recruitment and retention. Contact our Economic Development Office for information about incentives for business, opportunities available and more.

Start Your Business

Here are some resources to help you get started with the initial steps to opening a new business.

Looking for information about Penticton's economic drivers, demographics, and infrastructure? Visit the Penticton Business Toolkit, a site dedicated to helping you access ready-to-use local data & intelligence. Also visit our Economic Profile page for relevant information about Penticton.
Here are some other useful resources:
- BC Stats
- DataBC
- Housing: cmhc.ca & omreb.com
- Statistics Canada
Here are some other requirements that may be required for your business.
GST & PST: If you will be selling more than $10,000 a year in goods, you will have to collect and pay PST. Also, if your annual sales is more than $30,000, you may be required to collect and pay GST. These can be completed through OneStop Business Registry.
Payroll account: If you will be paying salary or wages to employees, you’ll need to register with the Canada Revenue Agency for a payroll deductions account.
Employers’ Insurance: If you have employees, you’ll need to register with WorkSafeBC.
BC Registry Services: Apply for your business name.
Identify other Licensing Requirements
Start by using BizPal online service, a free online service that helps you determine which permits and licences are required from all levels of government (federal, provincial, territorial and municipal). To contact the provincial ministry you can go to gov.bc.ca, phone 1-800-663-7867 or use this handy online list. For more information about federal licence requirements, visit canada.gc.ca or call 1-800-622-6232.
Here are some options:
- Community Futures Okanagan Similkameen
  This non-profit provides loans to support new business start-ups, business expansion or to provide stability.
- Women’s Enterprise Centre: A valuable resource for female entrepreneurs, offering small business loans to businesses that can help you start or grow your B.C. business.
- Government of Canada Small Business Financing: In order to apply for a loan under this program, a borrower must present a business proposal directly to a financial institution.
- Innovate BC: This a one-stop service centre to connect innovators – large and small – with B.C. government funding, tools, resources and support.
Are you interested in buying an existing business? Or perhaps you’re an owner looking to sell or lease your business? Here are a few options to get started.
BritishColumbia.ca Opportunities
Search this B.C. government website for businesses for sale. You’ll also find rental listings for office, retail and industrial space. If you’re selling your business, submit your listings so OpportunitiesBC can promote your opportunity worldwide.
Venture Connect
This organization provides guidance to business owners to plan for transition and business retention. List or browse businesses for sale on their website.

Hire and Get Hired

This 9-part video series was designed to provide businesses with key Human Resources fundamentals to support hiring, onboarding and to provide the foundations for successful employment relationships.
The Toolkit Intro Video will explain how this series is laid out so we recommend starting there. Following on from the Intro Video, each video tackles a standalone HR topic. It's recommended to watch them in order for the first viewing.
An accompanying PDF provides an overview of the series and a helpful checklist for employee file management.
BC Employment Standards
This law in B.C. sets the standards for payment, compensation and working conditions. Visit the website for information about hours of work and overtime, statutory holidays, laying off employees and more.
Canada Federal Labour Standards
Learn about the Canada Labour Code, including important topics such as hours of work, vacation and holidays, leaves, wages and more.
Employment and Social Development Canada
Learn about funding opportunities including grants and contributions, public pensions, disability programs, housing benefits and family benefits.
Okanagan College
Hire a student! Your business can access top talent to fill short-term requirements. Find out about the OC Student, Graduate & Co-Cop Employment programs at Okanagan College in Penticton.
StartHereOkanagan.com
If you're looking to recruit some great new talent to our community or hire some local skills, visit StartHereOkanagan.com. This platform allows you to create company profiles to promote your workplace culture and to post jobs for free. Jobs are marketed locally and across Canada.
WorkBC Employment Services Centre
WorkBC helps people find jobs, explore career options and improve their skills. They offer free job postings to employers and can help you fill jobs. Visit the Penticton office at 174 – 1846 Main Street, email centre-penticton@workbc.ca or log onto workbccentre-penticton.ca.

Organizations that can Help You Succeed

Accelerate Okanagan
Accelerate Okanagan helps develop and support creative entrepreneurs in the technology community. Based in Kelowna, they are a hub of like-minded, ambitious individuals who seek collaboration through coaching, connections, info sessions and a shared workspace.
Community Futures Okanagan Similkameen
Community Futures offers assistance and a variety of services and tools to help entrepreneurs and small business owners achieve their goals, including business support services, business planning advice, loans and self-employment assistance.
Interior Health
Interior Health is responsible for regulating and monitoring many public facilities and those aspects of the environment that have a direct impact on public health. If you're looking to open a business that serves food or drink, cares for children or the elderly, or is involved with personal care such as tanning, tattooing, or hair, you will need to speak with someone at Interior Health.
Naramata Bench Winery Association
The NBWA represents more than twenty award-winning wineries overlooking Lake Okanagan. Member wineries share marketing costs and benefit from being associated with a positive, established brand that lends their business an immediate level of consumer confidence and recognition.
Okanagan Falls Winery Association
The OFW Association offers the same benefits as the NBWA to another group of premiere wineries just south of Penticton.
Penticton & Wine Country Chamber of Commerce
The Penticton Chamber of Commerce is a not for profit, member-based association. Members benefit from networking as well as subsidized products and services (insurance, software, office supplies, gas, advertisements, etc.).
Penticton Industrial Development Association
PIDA represents the interests of industrial businesses in Penticton. They are a sounding board for business owners to address issues and concerns, and they advocate to the City of Penticton to improve the economic climate. To get involved contact Frank Conc of AC Motor Electric.
Small Business BC
Small Business BC is British Columbia’s premier resource centre for knowledge-based business development. They have been recognized by several national and international awards.
South Okanagan Immigrant and Community Services (SOICS)
SOICS is a one-stop-shop that works together with immigrants to help them get settled, find careers and learn all they need to know about starting their new lives in Canada—including business services and information about foreign direct investment.
Travel Penticton
Travel Penticton markets our city and operates the Visitor Centre, open to tourists and locals alike. They also promote your event, accommodation or experiential travel business, while attracting major sporting events.
Women’s Enterprise Centre
WEC helps women entrepreneurs to start, purchase or grow a small business. They provide training, business advice, resources and referrals to other services using a supportive, individual and practical approach.
WorkBC
WorkBC Employment Services Centres serve local businesses by providing key labour force information and recruitment services, including free job postings for employers. Our local WorkBC Centre is found at 50 Calgary Avenue, Penticton

Get Connected

- 100 Women Who Care, 100 Men Who Care & the Community Foundation: networking and charitable giving
- Penticton & Wine Country Chamber of Commerce
- Two Rotary clubs: Penticton Okanagan Rotary and the Rotary Club of Penticton
- Penticton Women in Business
- Junior Chamber International for young professionals (JCI Penticton): Provides young businesspeople opportunities in leadership, social responsibility, entrepreneurship and fellowship.
- Accelerate Okanagan: mentorship and coaching for tech companies
- South Okanagan Tech Professionals
- Cowork Penticton: shared office space with informal Friday evening networking
- Penticton meetup groups
- Community Futures Okanagan Similkameen: supports entrepreneurs and businesses through loans, support and advisory services

Continuing Education and Skills Training

Want to brush up on some additional skills, or perhaps you are considering a complete career change? Penticton has a variety of post-secondary educational opportunities:
- Okanagan College Adult Education, Diploma, Certificate and Degree programs
- Sprott Shaw College Early Childcare Education, Healthcare: Medical Care Aide, LPN
- HNZ Topflight Advanced terrain helicopter pilot training
- BP Aviation Airplane pilot training
- Community Futures Okanagan Similkameen Self-employment and business management workshops
- Penticton School of Hair: 250-493-2747
Visit the following websites for information about subsidies and training opportunities that may be suitable for you.
- Community Futures Okanagan Similkameen
- Government of Canada – Support for Apprentices
- Province of British Columbia – Jobs & Career Training Resources
- Certified International Trade Professional Training
- Federal Government Grants and Contributions
- Service Canada
- Skilled Trades Employment Program (STEP)
- Trades Training BC
- Training Tax Credit
- Work Sharing Program for Employers
- WorkBC

Plan Your Event

Industry Groups

Accelerate Okanagan
Accelerate Okanagan helps develop and support creative entrepreneurs in the technology community. Based in Kelowna, they are a hub of like-minded, ambitious individuals who seek collaboration through coaching, connections, info sessions and a shared workspace.
Naramata Bench Winery Association
The NBWA represents more than twenty award-winning wineries overlooking Lake Okanagan. Member wineries share marketing costs and benefit from being associated with a positive, established brand that lends their business an immediate level of consumer confidence and recognition.
Okanagan Falls Winery Association
The OFW Association offers the same benefits as the NBWA to another group of premiere wineries just south of Penticton.
Penticton Industrial Development Association
PIDA represents the interests of industrial businesses in Penticton. They are a sounding board for business owners to address issues and concerns, and they advocate to the City of Penticton to improve the economic climate. To get involved contact Frank Conci of AC Motor Electric.
Manufacturing Safety Alliance of BC
Provides safety training and advisory services for manufacturers, food processors, wineries, breweries and distilleries.

Export Resources

Penticton’s Economic Development department is here to help! We invite you to come and speak with us, or drop us a line, to ask any questions – and we’ll help you get ready to export.

- Trade & Invest British Columbia
- Export Development Canada
- Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters
- Canada Border Services Agency Export Guide
- Canadian Trade Commissioner
- Export.ca (Canada’s Export E-Business Portal)
- Canadian Commercial Corporation
- Government of Canada - Trade Data Online
- Small Business BC Import/Export Advisory Services
- Trade Commissioner Service
- TradeStart

Immigration

South Okanagan Immigrant & Community Services
SOICS provides a range of free services to immigrants, temporary foreign workers, post-secondary international students and refugees, including job search and language training.
Entrepreneur Immigration (Provincial Nominee Program – PNP)
If you’re an entrepreneur who wants to invest and manage a business in B.C., you may be eligible for the BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration program. This involves pairing international entrepreneurs with community priorities. The City of Penticton is partnering with the South Okanagan Immigrant and Community Services Society to support the program.
Federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program
Hiring a foreign worker may help you meet short-term skill and labour needs when permanent residents are not available. Visit the Government of Canada’s website for further details.

Remote Workers

We have a growing community of virtual workers, or telecommuters, living and working in Penticton. Visit our Remote Workers page for information.

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