Starting your own business: A cheat sheet

 

So you’re interested in starting your own business, it’s an exciting although nerve-wracking time. There’s always some risk involves but there’s no point going in blind – so here is our cheat sheet for first-time business owners to help you along your journey.

Have a great idea

If you’ve even gotten to the point where you’ve found this article, it’s likely that you’ve got a killer idea. You’ve been mulling it over in your head and it’s gotten to the point where you just know you have to see it through. Whether you plan to provide a service, produce your own goods, open a restaurant cafe, or something else undoubtedly wonderful – if you’re confident in your idea you owe it to yourself to pursue it.

See a need in the market

Takeaway coffee is a great idea but we’ve already got more coffee shops, cafes and Starbucks franchises than you can shake a stick at. So no matter how good your idea is you have to be sure you can do it in your own unique way. Aim for something amazing, achievable and most importantly: needed!

How can you assess whether your business is needed? A simple way to do this is to find a niche and stick to it. Be incredibly clear and specific about what you’re going to do and why your approach will be different and better than other businesses already in the field.

Take a risk

There’s no denying it, starting your own business is always going to be risky. There are so many unknowns: will people buy your product? Need your services? Seek you out? Without taking a leap you have no way to have these questions answered. Though these questions can leave you susceptible to self-doubt and can have you thinking maybe you’re not ready yet but you are! Take that risk!  It is totally normal to feel nervous because what is coming next requires a massive leap of faith but it’s one that many great entrepreneurs have taken before you.

Take care of all the paperwork (ABN and GST)

Applying for an ABN is surprisingly simple and definitely necessary if you want to start a business. You’ll want to go to this website to apply for your ABN (don’t worry the process is simple and they’ll talk you through the steps). There are some scams so make sure you are only giving your information to the official government website and remember, ABN application is a completely free process so you shouldn’t be providing payment. You’ll also need to register for GST in order to get your business up and running. Click here to have some legal assistance when applying for company registration.

Get a business credit card

So, you’ve started your own business, now you’ll need the cash flow to keep things running smoothly. To do this, you’ll want to get a great business credit card. We suggest a charge card with no pre-set spending limits. This does not equate to a totally blank cheque but rather every month you’ll be able to spend whatever your card provider thinks you can payback. When used wisely, experts say that a business card can extend your companies cash flow by 55 days! To learn more about business credit cards with no pre-set spending limits check out this article.

Call in favours

Starting a new business is always going to be hard even under the best circumstances so you owe it to yourself to get all the help you can find! So get yourself a mentor and mine them for all the advice you can get. There is no glory to be gained from going it alone, in fact, without a support system, many new businesses fail. So accept every piece of advice that comes your way, from friends, family, other business owners – even your rivals. You may want to consider a formal mentorship, you can head here for tips about how to approach a mentor.

Try, try and try again!

Starting a new business is undeniably challenging and even seasoned investors and lifelong entrepreneurs can still make mistakes. Everyone is fallible. There’s sure to be setbacks along the way so don’t be too hard on yourself pick yourself up and try again.

As the saying goes: ‘the dream doesn’t work unless you do’ when it comes to starting a business this has never been more true! Plenty of people have great ideas but very few people manage to muster the courage and momentum to put their ideas into practice – you have to have absolute faith in yourself!  The first few days, weeks, months, or even years of your journey as a new business owner are bound to be rocky but, if you have confidence in yourself and your vision you’ll be able to weather the storm and take your dream and turn it into a reality!