• 7 steps to starting your own buisness • Are you ready?

               

·         7 steps to starting your own buisness

·         Are you ready?

Starting a business is the beginning of an exciting – and sometimes challenging period in your life. Suddenly you find yourself immersed in a whole new world of licensing, insurance, marketing and leasing – it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

Follow the steps below to help you decide if you are ready to go into business, how to get started and where to seek help along the way.

1.Determine if you are ready

Going into business for yourself for the first time will change your lifestyle, professionally and personally, and can involve a significant financial commitment.

Whether your business succeeds or fails depends on many things including your abilities, initiative and capacity to work, as well as the economic and business environment.

2.Assess your business idea

The only way you can know if your business idea is going to work is by undertaking market research. This could involve researching information on the industry, undertaking competitor analysis and surveying potential customers. Determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis) of your business idea.

 

3.Build your business plan

Although initially it may seem like a lot of work, a well prepared business plan can save time and money in the long run and help you secure funding and major contracts.

4.Choose your business structure 

Once you have established the viability of your business idea, you will need to decide on the structure that best suits your business and its particular circumstances.

 5.Figure out your finances

An important part of running a small business is understanding how to set up and manage your finances. You will need to work out whether you can afford to start the business and how much money you will need. It’s not just your start-up costs, you will also need to assess how you will access the money to fund your future plans. Being able to effectively manage your finances is critical. You will need to be able to forecast your cash flow and sales, as well as, monitor your profit and loss. You will also need to declare your income to the Australian Tax Office.

Having sound financial management skills will help you to run your business profitably and protect your financial investment.

6.Market your business

Many small businesses come up with a great business idea and then fail to market it successfully. You need to get out and spread the word about your product or service to the right people to generate business. Advertising and selling are part of the process but there is much more involved.

7.Networking

Building good relationships through networking will help you to grow your business and give you the support you’ll need.