Are you ready to start your new business?

Our guide to start a new business includes three videos, each covering 4 steps. As you’ve just seen in video #1, there are quite a few things to consider in the initial stages of starting your business.

1. Idea & Research

We recommend spending quite a bit of time on this step. When conducting your research and fleshing out your idea, some things you’ll want to consider are:

• Is there a market for your business idea?
• What steps will you need to take to develop your idea?
• Complete a Competitor Analysis – who are your direct competitors? where are they located? how are they priced? what’s your key point of difference to them? (i.e. why will someone choose your business over theirs?)
• Complete a SWOT Analysis for your business (this involves identifying your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) 
• Consider whether you’ll trademark your idea

2. Planning

• Develop your Business Plan (you’ll be asked if you have this before you can proceed with setting up your ABN and Business Name)
• If you’re planning to export products, now is the time to develop your Export Strategy too
• Develop your Risk Management Plan to protect yourself, your business and any other stakeholders

3. Forecasting

• Before you invest in your business, you need to crunch the numbers to ensure it’s financially viable
• Consider how much cash you will need to invest and how long you can give before you start getting a return
• You’ll also need to consider how much return you’ll need to support your lifestyle – how will your business generate this?

4. Pricing

• Now that you’ve worked out how much return you need to make to support your lifestyle, it’s time to develop your Pricing Strategy. Think about how you want to be perceived in the market (cheap vs. affordable vs. expensive). We recommend looking back on your research from Step 1, to ensure you’re not pricing your products or services too much higher or lower than your direct competitors, as going too far in either direction can raise questions around the quality of your products or services. 

Starting a new business can be a daunting process, so to ensure you start with your best foot forward, you might like to consider engaging a Business Advisor to help navigate you through the process.

Which stage are you at?