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Are you looking to launch a startup in Australia? There are some things you should know first.
Let’s start first by saying that startups in Australia are one of the fastest-growing ecosystems and that their rate is one of the highest in the world. So, if you’re planning to start-up in Australia, you chose an attractive place for entrepreneurship.
So, now that you know that, we go through a checklist of all things you’ll need to start-up. The checklist is extensive, but don’t get overwhelmed because we tried to downsize the list to primary tasks that need to be done.
Create an idea and do the market validation
Start by creating a business idea. If you think you have a good business idea, you need to test it first. So, what you need to do is write down your business or product concept. This is not like writing a business plan, all you need to do is put down on paper whatever idea you need to go over.
After that, you need to validate your idea and this is where market validation comes into play.
Market validation will help you determine whether your business idea is of interest to a certain target market. During this process, you will need to do a couple of customer interviews with people from your target market.
You must do these interviews well before you’ve invested any money into a business concept or product.
Customers
Who will be your customers? What’s the point of starting a business if you have no customers? So, your next step would be identifying possible customers. Start by thinking this way – is there something that you can provide to your customers that the existing market hasn’t already. Will your services or product be something that customers will actually pay for?
If all your answer have been answered and you managed to identify customers that’s a step in the right direction.
The evaluation of market size is a highly important step on the checklist. You need to have an idea about the size of your potential customers and audience and of course your competition.
Write a business plan
Only after doing extensive research on market fit and target audience can you think about creating a business plan. And don’t let anyone convince you that you don’t need a business plan.
Having a solid business plan can help you a lot with the financial side of the business, it helps you perfect the idea, hire a good team and so much more. Not to mention that with a well-written business plan you have more chance of succeeding.
Make sure that your market plan includes the description of your company, market analysis, what you plan to offer to your customers, your marketing plan, the financial plans, and so on. The truth is that there is no one way to write a good business plan, just make sure you include everything you can think of in it.
Finance
The next point on our checklist features finance. You need to know how to properly manage your finances because a lot of small businesses fail precisely due to the lack of proper finance management.
First, you should always create backup plans and an exit strategy. In addition to that, you’d need to hire an accountant to help you out, open up a business account in a bank. In case, you’re seeking funding, you’ll also need to create a one-page pitch. A one-page pitch is a one-page version of your business plan.
Choose a name and brand your business
A solid business name or brand can either make or break your business. That’s precisely why you need to create a strong brand that will stick with your customers. Of course, the name or brand needs to be unique and you should make sure that it hasn’t already been taken.
This shouldn’t be difficult as you’ve already researched your target audience and you know how to grab their attention. So, your job here is to choose a strong name or brand, then create a relatable brand message and your brand’s tone of voice.
After all of that what’s left are design choices – font types and colors for your logo.
Make your business legal
Yet another highly important step – making your startup legal, obtaining permits and licenses. To do this in the right way you should hire a good lawyer, especially if you’re opening a business in Australia.
Hire a team of trusted solicitors in Sydney, who will help you obtain any federal or state permits and licenses. They will also provide you with any legal advice you may need. They will help you file for trademark protection and everything else you may need in order to make your business completely legal.
You will also need to register your business name and a domain that matches your business name. It’s crucial that you do things by the books so that you have peace of mind.
Create a website
In this day and age, a business without a website technically doesn’t exist. Having a website is a necessity more than a commodity these days. Having a business website makes you look professional and it helps you attract new customers.
Additionally, with a business website, you can showcase all your services or products right from the source. Another good purpose of it is to give your business and products credibility. With a website, you can easily display the best reviews and testimonials.
You can even encourage your customers to contact you and write reviews on products or services they purchased from you.
These and many more things can be incorporated into your business website.
Create a team
Creating and building a successful team is more than just hiring a group of people with certain professional skills. Having a great team that works like a well-oiled machine implies hiring people who are willing to help each other, who complement and support each other.
Every member of the team should have a specific set of skills and roles and they should be structured functionally. Trust and honesty in a team are crucial.
This is how a thriving team should look like. So, when hiring people for your team, make sure they have all of these qualities.
This has been an abbreviated checklist of all the steps you need to start your business. Startups aren’t easy or complication-free. However, if you are tenacious and you really want to open your own business, all of these things will pay off in time.