I want to re-start my small business when I get to Vancouver (I spend hours at a computer designing images, using photos I take, then printing them on an A3 printer to sell!)

However, I get the impression from those nice people at Vancouver City Hall that if I want to run a business from home, I cannot actually produce anything?! I was hoping to buy a live/work loft (with the intention of 'working' in it) but it all seems very problematic. I can't believe people aren't running small enterprises in Vancouver (just think of all those e-bay traders!)

Does anyone else work from home, and did you have any problems setting up?

What you are proposing is not exactly 'work'..ie, heavy industry!!!

If you showed the people at city hall a few samples of your work, and explain how it is produced eg, quietly, on a printer, then I can't see them having a problem with it. If they do, don't go!!

As 1066 said, it's not exactly heavy industry and i think it would be ok, who's to know where it was printed anyway? As for ebay, it doesn't seem to have caught on in Canada yet. if you look for anything then 85% of sellers are from the USA.

"Gimme a licence or I'm taking all my money back to England!"

heheh, that'll teach 'em!

yeah, i can just see them waving "bye bye" now

Attaboy!!! Go gettem!!!

Basically, no one would even ask for a permit. Just do it. The only issue
for home businesses in Vancouver would be a steady stream of customers.
People might think that you were a drug dealer. Your neighbours would
complain about the customers taking on street parking spots.
If you need a business license for insurance or Costco purposes, then get it
but tell city hall that you are a consultant and work all over the city.

Some condominiums (including bare land condos) have regulations that allow you to run a business only as long as a limit on a number of daily visitors is not succeeded. These regulations supplement any that the municipality might have.

We are having a new single family house built on a bare land condo are are limited to 2 business visitors a day. Fortunately being a software developer nobody would want to visit anyway