SO YOU’RE SETTING UP YOUR OWN BUSINESS…

Starting your own business is an exciting time. You’ve got a brilliant idea, great skills and heaps of passion and energy. You can’t wait to turn it all into a business, stop working for someone else’s benefit and start running the show yourself. Unfortunately, it is not always an easy road ahead. The statistics are stark; according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics:

  • An average of 44 small businesses close their doors every day;
  • Of the 300,000 business that started in 2010-11, 1 in 4 closed in their first year; and
  • Only half were still operating three years later.

WHY SO MANY START-UPS FAIL

Put simply: businesses fail because most small business owners lack basic commercial management skills, whether it be financial know-how, sales and marketing techniques, dealing with staffing problems and awareness of regulatory and legal frameworks.

Moreover, estimates are that only 3 to 5 per cent of Australian small businesses starting from scratch prepare a business plan – that is, assess in a methodological way whether or not their business idea is feasible and then put in place a formal plan to operate that business. The reality a lot of business owners spent more time planning their wedding or their 40th than they did planning their business… Don’t let this be you.

THE GOOD NEWS

You can avoid all those common pitfalls.  In fact, you’re in the enviable position of being able to set up your business right, right from the start.  All it requires is the following:

  • Awareness

    Take stock of your current skill-set and knowledge. Be honest with yourself. Where are the gaps?

  • EDUCATE YOURSELF

    Now that you know where your skills are lacking, do something about it! Be prepared to do lots of reading (start with our blog). If the gaps are large and you don’t really know where to begin, you may want to consider our small business training program.

  • TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AVAILABLE TOOLS

    There are some great business tools out there, from financial management software to project management tools to customer relationship management systems. Again by setting yourself up right from the start, you’ll be ahead of the curve and it will save you lots of sweat and blood down the road!

  • SEEK EXTERNAL HELP AND ADVICE IF NEEDED

    You don’t have to go it alone. In fact, you probably can’t go it alone. Consider outsourcing certain specific tasks such as bookkeeping, build solid relationships with your banker, accountant and any other professionals involved in your business, exchange ideas with other business owners etc. And find a business mentor or coach.

WHAT WE FOCUS ON WITH START-UPS

DEVELOPING A BUSINESS SKILL SET

Covering everything from sales and marketing techniques to how to stay on top of your bookkeeping and read your financial statements to managing a team, we give you all the basic business knowledge and skills required to be successful in business.

BUSINESS PLANNING

We help you to develop a solid and detailed business plan with practical steps that you can start implementing straight away. We can also assist in preparing business plans to be provided to banks when requesting a loan.

SALES & MARKETING

As the saying goes, cash is king, and nowhere is this more true than when starting up a business. We focus on starting to get sales and generate cash as quickly as possible, and work with you on managing your working capital and cash flow ups and downs.

Want help getting your business off to a flying start? We offer a variety of programs and workshops – contact us to find out which one would be most suitable for you.

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