Overview

1/ Analyse and Define your Business Idea Firstly, do you have what you think is a good business idea? Ask yourself is it feasible? You may need to find out if there is a market out there for your product or service. If so you may need to carry out some market research to determine who your competition might be and what are their pricing structures. Also, you should look into ways you can differentiate your products or services from those already in the market place. In today’s busy competitive world you need to be able to stand out against what may be many competitors. This point of difference essential for your market push. Can your product or service be better, cheaper, faster or more efficient than the opposition? Then concentrate on those features Create a list of strengths and weaknesses that may apply to your proposed business so you can determine what to promote and what to overcome If you would like to discuss your idea initially give us a call 0n 1300 828494 and we will see how one of our associates can help you starting your business. 2/ Market Research Are there others already doing what you want to start doing? If not do you know the reason why. Have you determined that customers will actually pay for your product or service. You also need to know who will be your customers in your market. To help you make an informed decision source statistics and any other vital information you can locate. Also, determine exactly what your customer’s needs are This sort of information will help you enormously with future marketing. See if you can determine what the strengths and weaknesses of your competition are. If you are able to identify any weakness you can really emphasize your strengths in these areas. Moreover, Source Government publications, trade journals, market reports and association publications for the relevant data. See a specialist article in our blog section on www.startupyourbusiness.com.au 3/ Determine the Best Business Structure for You – Registrations and Selecting a Business Name Basically there are four major types of business structures in Australia. Sole Trader( Where a person is solely responsible for everything), a partnership ( an association of people or entities combining to run a business), a Company ( a legal entity separate from its shareholders) or a Trust ( an entity that holds property or income for the benefit of others ) If you want a particular company name you can easily check if it is available by searching on the ASIC website. You may require registered names for parts of your business. These can be registered through ASIC as well. Many people worry about choosing the perfect name. Don’t worry about this, don’t put the cart before the horse You can start the company in one name and trade in another if that’s what you would like to do. All Business Owners in Australia have to register before commencing any business activities. So you will need to obtain an Australian Business Number (ABN0, register for GST, obtain a tax file number and register for pay as you go withholding tax, You should always seek professional advice on determining which structure is best for you This is available in all of our packages. You will receive a 1-hour session with an accountant and a commercial lawyer. Russell Evans, Asia Pacific Manager of Wolters Kluwer – a worldwide team of tax & accounting, finance, risk & compliance, and legal experts says “The majority of small businesses that do not seek professional advice do so at their peril”. 200 Specialist Small Business Accountants ranked bad business models as the main reason Small to Medium Businesses fail ATO: https://www.ato.com.au ASIC: https://asic.com.au 4/ Know the laws that apply to your industry, fair trading and contracts: Depending on your industry there may be a need to obtain the proper permits and licenses that apply. You need to know which laws apply to your bin particular and generally. You can obtain this information from various branches of government- Local, State and Federal. You can also obtain these and background from a commercial lawyer. You should also have a broad understanding of contracts and fair trading laws that apply in your state. You may also need to know how the privacy act applies to your business, Australian consumer laws, unfair dismissal laws and laws applying to employ people. A one-hour session with a Commercial Lawyer is available in all of our packages. If you need more assistance you can arrange a further time directly with our dedicated solicitor to discuss how to start your business. 5/ Be Careful to choose the Right Suppliers/ Associates at the time of starting your business: Choosing experienced, honest and reliable associates can be as important as selecting the right product or service to sell. It is important that you select the correct Commercial Lawyer, Book Keeper, Accountant, Business Coach, and Insurance Broker. From experience, it is also difficult to know if suppliers such as Web Designers, SEO/Google Ad Words contractors, IT experts, Freight Forwarders and Logo Designers are honest and reliable and provide fair prices for the work they perform. Startup your business has actually dealt with all the providers that we use as part of the packages we have in place. We recommend them to provide first-class results. It will save you time and money because we have arranged special rates for our clients due to the volume of business we provide for them. If you are looking for a Website Designer, for example, you don’t know if you are receiving fair value and if the site will be finished as you envisage it. Because we have actually used our preferred suppliers we know that you will receive exactly what you expect while starting your business. 6/ Insurance and Business Protection Insurance may be something that you will get around to doing after you get started. However, purchasing the right insurance for your business is an important step that you need to cover prior to the official launch of your business. Dealing with incidents such as property damage, theft, customer injuries that may occur on your premises, product liability and professional liability are some of the things that need to be covered before you start your business. You will need public liability insurance covering you for third party death or injury., product liability which covers you for legal action taken out as a result of injury, damage or death caused by a failure of one of your products. Professional Indemnity may be needed if you provide professional advice. Management Liability also may be something you need to cover. Another important item to cover may be Intellectual Property rights to your products or new IP. If you intend to export products you need to ensure that your goods will not infringe the IP of other businesses The Insurance Council of Australia estimates that 70 % of small businesses are uninsured or uninsured It is essential that the cover provided is adequate for your business Our insurance specialist as part of all packages will provide you with the best offers for the best coverage 7/ Assessing your Finances, Resources to help fund businesses and Government Grants You need to determine how you are going to cover the costs of establishing your business. Do you have funds set aside or will you need to borrow monies? Experts generally agree that startup businesses often fail because they run out of money too quickly. It may be prudent to overestimate what you will need. There are many sources of funding available in Australia to assist with the creation of a new business. Among these are small business loans, crowdfunding, and, trade equity, Initially you can approach your existing bank for funding. They may require mortgage Security to advance funds. In addition to the established banks, you may like to approach one or more of the new internet banks such as ING, Volt, Xinja or ME Bank and Other sources of monies lend.com.au and Ebroker.com.au At no cost to you, we have a very experienced Business Finance Broker who can provide you with professional assistance to source your funding. This facility is available as part of all of our packages. Government Grants for small businesses are generally provided by State or Federal Governments while starting your business. Some of the grants available are Innovation Grants, Tourism Grants, Small Business Entrepreneur Grants, Export and Digital Grants., These are funding sources you should definitely target. Government Grants: https://www.grants.com.au/ 8/ Marketing : Marketing is a fundamental part of all businesses and every business needs to understand the true worth of marketing. The bottom line of any business is to make money and marketing is the essential channel to do this. It can increase sales, grow businesses and engage customers..6 Key Reasons why marketing is important. • It informs your prospect what your product is and how it can benefit them • It allows smaller businesses to compete with larger operators • Marketing sustains a company by developing relationships with there customers • Customer engagement is essential to any business. You need to develop relationships for ongoing business • Marketing helps sell products and services • It helps to grow and starting your business Having a website is akin to having a phone number in the pre –www age If you don’t have a website you are not in business. It is vital to the success of a business. We have experts in developing websites, creating SEO and developing Ad Words campaigns and Online strategists and these services are available in our packages. Lastly, Marketing Assistance is available as part of all our packages and it will help to settle and start your business profoundly.