Setting up your own business

The earlier you are aware of your rights and obligations when setting up your own business, the better. Here's an overview of things to consider before starting.

Local Government requirements

Contact your local council to see if a permit is required to operate your own business from your home.

Local Councils may not see a graphic design or writing business a problem, but if your business attracts numerous clients to your home office, courier pick-up and deliveries at least twice a day, or perhaps a one hundred metre antenna on your roof, or a semi trailer parked in the front garden, then setting up your own business from home may not be an option.

Registering your business

Find our from the taxation office about Australian Business Numbers (ABN) and Goods and Services Tax (GST) requirements. Other countries may have similar requirements.

You may not need to register a business name to conduct a business, but you may need to if you take out a .com.au domain name for your website. Find out how much registration costs and how long it takes.

Intelligence Gathering

Try to go to as many networking sessions and business events in your locality as possible. Ask lots of questions to find out how businesses are performing and if there are any gaps in the marketplace that you could fill. This could include visiting local business centres.

If your job/business is totally Internet based, search for other like businesses to assess your competition.

Finance and equipment

Finance is usually the biggest restraint and determines when you can start a business. One way to plan for this is to open a bank account while you’re still working for someone else and put a set amount into the account every week or month. You could apply to your bank for a loan but if you have never run a business before the manager may not see you as a good risk.

I know of several people who were persuaded to rent computers, printers, scanners, etc. but without a strong cash flow, repayments were difficult if not impossible. There are two ways to do this. Save and purchase equipment outright, or look around for good second-hand stuff. Once the business is bringing in some money you can upgrade and trade in the second hand items.

There can be hidden costs when setting up your own business. Make a list of everything including having a dedicated telephone line run into your home, taking a post office box, ADSL Internet connection and ongoing costs, having extra electrical sockets installed in the room you’re going to use, furniture, stationery items anything connected with running the business.

Don’t forget a budget for marketing to let people know you have started trading.

List all recurring costs and one-off payments, this will give you an idea of how much money you have to make to cover your bills.

Owning and running a one-person business can be fun and a great lifestyle, but it can also be a continuous source of stress.

I believe planning as per the above will give you a good foundation on which to make the transition to becoming a successful soloist.

Barb Clews is a skilled copywriter and editor. She writes in plain language and believes material for print and the web should be clear, concise and user-friendly.

7 comments | Add your own

As a person who has started from scratch : my number one piece of advice is :determine your target market and your selling price . Research the need anf market price for your services (or product).
Try to determine why customers will come to you (your competitive advantage). Develop a marketing plan with a time line for actions and results.
Remember the easy part is to buy equipment , gear up with stationery etc but if there are no customers then you do not have a business at all !
A simple business plan ,what & how with emphasis in market research and geting in front of prospective customers. A DELLER from Melbourne
Barb, Thanks for highlighting some of the simpest things to take care of. I remember printing business cards and registering a domain name without realising I needed to register the business name with Office of Fair Trading! Luckily the name was available and approved so I did not have to reprint anything. Linda Anderson from Sydney, Australia | Read my articles
Hi Barb - great advice - too few soloists take the time to think about what they need to do and just do it - then regret the results when a little early planning and preparation could've made the difference. Grant Hyman from Sydney | Read my articles
I suppose too its about what you already have. If you are working form home, and your home computer can do what you need use it until you can save up to get a new one. Im hoping to start my own business later this yr (im researching and organising stuff now), but as im working from home most of what i need i already have its just stuff like Insurance (alot of small buiness need public liability) and software costs, as well as membership to accredited organisations that will help your business. Bec from SA
Dear Barb,
Can a solo trader be set as a company? Li Zhong from Darwin
I am thinking of setting up my own business from home by selling items that are a passion of mine. At the moment I am buying these items from overseas because I find that Australia does not have the market for these in big supply. How do I go about looking for suppliers to provide me with these items? Helen Schumann from Tamworth
Thanks for your comments everyone. Li, if you haven't found out already, I do believe it is possible for a sole trader to become a company, if this would be more appropriate for your business. You could ask your accountant who would have sound knowledge about this.
And Helen, I guess the first place to look is on the Internet, perhaps put a brand name into a search engine and see what comes up, or if you find a product in a shop ask to speak to the buyer and follow-up from there. Tracking down product supplies is the hardest part of setting up a commodities business. Sorry I can't help with more information. Barb Clews from Australind | Read my articles

7 comments | Add your own

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