Your dream has always been to be a self-made person and you are now ready to make that dream come true by starting your own small business! The thing is, it’s a bit more complicated than it sounds, and before you open up shop there are a number of important steps you will need to take to make sure your venture is a success!
So, before you go through the process of Australian company name registration and rent your storefront or office space, have a look at the following suggestions designed to help you get up and running without a lot of expense and stress!
- Your Business Plan – No matter how clever your idea is, no new small business survives long without one of these, they are that critical to your success, an absolute must-have! Sitting down and writing up a solid business plan is your first stop on the road to success. Think of it as your blueprint, something you can reference when questions come up. Your business plan can also be used to help you raise external funds if you decide to go that route, a lender is going to need to know how their money will be used and gauge your chances of success- it’s all in the plan!
- Your Operations Plan – Now that you have your overview of the business, it’s time to get down to some of the nitty gritty, in this case how your business will operate on a daily basis. Are you a one-person show, or do you intend to hire employees? If you need to bring in help, how many people are you going to need to have on your team? Do you need to have a brick-and-mortar store or office space, or will you be working from home online? If you are doing e-commerce, will you require extra space for storage of your inventory? How are you going to handle your shipping? Your operations plan is the place to work all of these things out!
- Your Financial Plan – Are you going to need to seek investments to get your business started? How much capital do you have secured already? How much are your estimated daily running, and how much are your expected profits going to tally up to? Get the calculator out and start doing the math!
- Your Location – Yes, you know the old saying, “location, location location!” and it’s as true now as it ever was, especially in the case of opening up a storefront or an office where customers are expected to visit! Successful brick-and-mortar stores rely heavily on foot traffic, and the heavier the better! Aim for areas near mass transit stations or existing shopping districts. If you are going the e-commerce route, then your website becomes your storefront, so you will have to bone up on search engine optimization and all the other tricks used to get people to click on your site!
The Australian Government’s Business website has more advice, so you should make a point of seeing what they have to say. Good luck with your small business, we are rooting for your big success!
