Starting in Online Consulting and Freelancing.

[Andrew118]

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I am looking to start a business in software development and consulting. I expect most of my clients to be outside of VIC and also many overseas clients. Business will ramp up slowly at first I suspect.

As I would be trading interstate and overseas what is the best approach as I am a bit confused about where to start. Should I first register for an ABN and then register a Trading Name or Company Name ? The company will be owned and run by myself so does that mean Sole Trader is a also an option ?

I would like to keep it simple, get started as soon as possible and keep the costs down at this stage. Any advice or comments are welcome.

Andrew.

[The Hobbit]

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Andrew,
Good luck with your new venture.
If you haven’t had previous experience of Consulting you might want to consider reading our manual: “How to Become a Successful Consultant in your own field“. Download the free sample, the manual can help you avoid a whole lot of pitfalls plus it has a section on how to set your Consulting Fees.

The hobbit

[altaimage]

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Think Sole Trader to start with is all you’d need and it will save initial costs from the limited experience I have and knowledge my accountant provides me with! Then if you grow get the trading name registered and trademark your corporate identity etc. Think at first Sole Trading is a great way to test the waters and market and grow from there.

All the best though, sounds like a good plan

Scott @ alta|image
http://www.altaimage.com.au
[email protected]

[Anonymous]

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Hi Andrew,

Welcome to Flying Solo. Hope you enjoy this planning phase of your business,

Best wishes,
Jayne

[Alan Maddick]

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Hi,

IMO you should sit down with an Accountant and discuss the differences between companies & sole trader and other structures. We deal with a lot of consultants and a lot of them choose to trade as a company for various reasons however it depends on your business plans, personal position and the risk of the consulting work you are doing (eg what are the chances of you getting sued)

[NathanC]

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Hi Andrew,

Personally I think that if you’re serious about making the business work long term then you need to get your foundation assets in order from the start. They include:
– brand identity (name, logo, visual style)
– registered business name / ABN
– company structure
– trademark
– .com.au and preferably .com domain names (plus .net and .org domains to protect your brand)
– social media accounts for your business name – twitter account, facebook page etc etc

Clients will get a feeling of substance in your business – and you’ll be comfortable knowing that the hours of effort you put in are contributing to building an asset (your company).

[Author]

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