New Business Set Up  Essentials

So you have decided to proceed on your Business Idea. You have checked the idea viability , worked through our 2 page Business Plan – Template and you are excited to move ahead.  You will need a checklist of the Business Essentials for the Set Up of a Business in Australia.

You may be new to some of these Business Essentials, so I have included some comments based on my experience. My summary chart is also available as a FREE Download

Apply for an ABN

Apply for an ABN if you don’t already have one or if your company doesn’t have one.  You won’t be able to register business names or purchase a .com.au without an ABN, so you will need to registering before anything else can happen.  Resource:  www.business.gov.au

Choose a business name

Reflect your brand and capture your spirit.  Register your business name with ASIC, first do a business name search to make sure you can get what you want, you might like to have a few choices ready incase you can’t get the exact name you want.  It may help to check at the same time that the website domain is available too as this might determine the name you eventually choose. Resource:     www.asic.gov.au

Learn the laws and legal requirements of your industry.

Are there any licences and permits you need to obtain?  You will need to have done some research on the legal requirements of the business you intend to operate or the premises or location of operation.  Eg. If you intend to sell vegetables by the side of a road, do you need a council permit?   Do you need a licence to serve alcohol if you are delivering “wine and main plates” to customers?  Do you or your employees need to be first aid trained?

Purchase your business domain name

Owning your business domain name reduces the risk of someone taking your business idea, create a website and direct traffic away from you.  Sometimes owning the website domain can just be a guarantee of keeping your name safe.  You can purchase domain names that aren’t related to your registered business name. Resource:  Many registrars including GoDaddy, NameCheap, NetVirtue

Open  bank accounts that can accept money deposits.

You will probably need to start with a float of some description or an upfront investment which can be repaid to you when the business starts making money, but initially you will need to input some money into the business to get it off the ground.  Do you need credit card facilities?  Shop around so you get the best rates, do your research on all bank accounts as well as other companies and don’t just accept what they initially offer you.

Insurance

Insurance is really important, especially public liability as well as business insurance. You may need to get help with this by using a broker who will ask you a lot of questions to get to know your business and provide you with the correct insurance to cover any accidents that may occur.

Set up suppliers

Do you need multiple supplier  chains, organise accounts with suppliers or purchase goods, or even import goods from overseas?  Do you have the contacts to purchase goods at wholesale?  Have you spoken to the suppliers to get prices and contracts?  Is there anything you need to do to get your product to market?

Where is your business going to operate from?

What is the geographic range of your business and how will your customers contact you, can you work from home or do you need an office, a shop front, storage container for stock, co-working space or just a desk with fixed telephone or a special mobile phone to take calls? Resource:   www.spacely.com.au

Work on your image

Branding your business, the look of the business, your logo help your suppliers and your customers understand you and your business Research what other businesses are doing and what you want your business to look like. Using online design companies can make designing your image a cheap alternative, but you must know what you like to give them ideas first.  Resource:     Fiverr.com   or Upwork.com

Work through your prices

Understand your costs and margins. Will you include packages to encourage people to purchase more, or give bulk discounts?

Set up your web presence.

Do you need a website?  Are you going to make it yourself or are you going to purchase one already built?  Do you have an amazing techy that can look after this for you and make sure you have good SEO?  What style or image are you trying to portray and is this attractive to your potential customers?

Who is your perfect avatar, or customer?

Do you know who you are marketing to?  What is their pain point or problem you are marketing it? Have you worked out where this person hangs out?  Know what they buy and what their buying trends are?  Do you know how to reach them?  Spend time getting to know this person so all your communication will reach them.

Find a business coach

A good business coach for you will be familiar with your field and has good experience in guiding businesses like yours, they will give you targets, keep you directed in the right areas, give you ideas you will not have thought about and will get to know your business as intimately as you do without the emotion, they will be able to see the forest from the trees, so will be able to give you unbiased advice on things you can’t see.  You will probably be with this coach or a few years then maybe need to change for a different prospective.

Business and Marketing Plans

Now it’s time to access your business plan and action the marketing plan.  What do you need to do to get customers to come to you and purchase your particular product?   Remember you will need lots of different touch points before someone will buy from you.

Follow Up and Reconnection

How will you follow up and reconnect with customers after they have purchased, or are they a once only purchase, what do you need to do after the sale and do you have a system to this occurs?  Resource: Mail Chimp Subscription

Download our Business Set Up Checklist to help you and your staff stay on track.