Starting a Business

So, you’ve decided to go into business, but where do you begin?

The most common way that people go into business is to start their own.

As start-up businesses do not have a proven product/service or an established customer base it is not surprising that many encounter difficulties and often do not succeed.

Before you start to set-up your business it is vital that you consider carefully a range of important issues that will enable your business to be built on sound principles and fundamentals.

The following list is not exhaustive but provides an overview of some of the key issues you need to address to ensure your business has a good chance of success.

• You must have the right personal qualities and possess a strong passion to succeed
• You must have the right experience and skills or be able to gain them
• You must have a clear focus and commitment to providing quality customer service
• You must have adequate capital without putting family assets at undue risk
• You must have a unique service provision or distinct product edge
• You must adopt the right structure to suit your business and meet compliance requirements
• You must clearly establish a defined market demand for your service/product
• You must match your finances and resources to your business plan
• You must ensure your financial projections are realistic and achievable

How to get started - where to next?

There are two ways you can proceed.

Firstly, you can print a copy of the Start-Up Checklist (pdf) which has local contact information as well as other helpful links and contacts.

Alternatively, you can go direct to the business.gov.au link highlighted above in the look-up menu. Once on that page scroll to the "How-to-Guides" , select  "Thinking of starting a business" , thence select, "How do I write a Business Plan" and under more information  select "Business Plan guides and templates"

Website link: http:/www.business.gov.au