It’s fantastic news that you are considering starting up your own small business and there are many hundreds if not thousands of other people doing the exact same thing that you are right now. You have decided to move away from working for someone else and now you get to enjoy all of the fruits of your hard work. This is a very memorable day and it is one you and your family will never forget. However, you need to be aware that the vast majority of businesses fail within the first two years of opening and so the hope is that you will not be one of these statistics. This means that you need to do everything that you can to make your small business a real success and that is going to come with hard work, long hours, dedication and taking advice when it is given to you.
There are a number of things that you need to understand about starting up a new business in Australia and one of them is that you must have an Australian resident Director to take care of the many legislative and regulatory requirements that are needed for business compliance. There are a number of steps that you should be following before starting your new business and the following are just some of those.
- Do the necessary research – Just because you think the product or service that you are offering is a fantastic idea doesn’t mean that the general public will think the same. This is why you need to ask yourself a few questions which should include will someone want the product or service that you offer, who will be your target demographic, what will be the location of my store or will I be doing it online and finally, can I offer something different than the closest competitors. These are questions that you really do need to ask yourself before you start to realise your dreams.
- Prepare a business plan – It is important to have a business plan before you even begin to consider opening a store. First of all you need to figure out where you’re getting money to set this new business off and how many staff you think you will need. The second thing to consider is if you need to have a business plan if you hope to borrow money from a bank or other lending institution. Your business plan should have a marketing strategy and analysis, a full description of your business that outlines the goods and services that you will provide and the list of your business goals.
These are only two tips to help you get off to a strong start but it is essential that you register your business first before anything else. Once you secure your operating capital to get your business off the ground then you need to consider how much of the space that you will need, any machinery or equipment that is required and the realisation that you are not going to make any money for at least 3 to 6 months.
