Over the past few years, more and more enterprising Australians have made the switch from a salaried position to one of self-employment, and if you are looking to join them, there are many great opportunities, especially with digital platforms. Of course, setting up your own business is no easy thing, and with that in mind, here is our business start-up checklist to ensure that nothing important is overlooked.
- Capital – You must crunch the numbers and calculate how much money you will need to turn your concept into a working business, and with online solutions like Nimble Loans, arranging a short-term business loan is simple when compared to borrowing from a traditional lender like a bank. Many businesses fail in the first year due to lack of funding, so do make sure that you have ample funds to see your business through the first 6 months.
- Adequate Resources – Regardless of your chosen industry, you should list all of the resources that you will need and make sure you have access to what you need. This might include business premises, vehicles, special tools & equipment, human resources and anything else that you feel is important.
- Legalities – You should hire a competent business lawyer who will ensure that your new enterprise is 100% legal, plus you will need a range of insurance policies to cover every eventuality. Company formation offers many options and with sound legal advice, you can make sure that your new business is formed in the most efficient way.
- Office Facilities – If your budget is limited, you could use your home as a temporary office, or you could simply rent a business address and have all your mail forwarded. Indeed, a virtual receptionist will project the right image and the costs are minimal when compared to employing a qualified receptionist.
- An Aggressive Digital Marketing Campaign – It is not possible to carve out a market share without specialist digital marketing assistance, and with a Google search, you can be talking to an SEO expert, one who can help you put together a good digital marketing plan. Aside from the obvious search engine optimisation and social media marketing, blogger outreach is a very effective way to drive traffic to a target website. Click here for 3 digital marketing strategies that work, which is a must for any entrepreneur.
- Business Plan – Ideally, this would be the very first thing you do, as your business plan will become the model on which you base everything. On average, a business plan would consist of 25-50 pages, and if you would like further information on self-employment in Australia, here is a government website with all the details. Your plan should include an overview, which introduces the business and outlines its objectives, a section on marketing, a list of all company assets and profit forecasts for at least the first 3 years of trading.
It takes a lot of careful planning to set up a business, and once you are certain you have covered all of the above, you can begin to implement your business plan and hopefully, the business will grow from strength to strength.