Starting A New Business?

Steps For Setting Up A New Business

We have outlined all of the main steps you need to action when setting up your new business. Everything from business name registration, to branding and marketing!

1. Turning your idea into a business

So, you’ve got an amazing idea for a new business and ready to get cracking? Just in case it slipped by in the heat of the ‘light bulb’ moment, there is a little more to starting a business than just an idea.. but don’t worry, we are here to help make it as streamline as possible for you, so you can focus on your new, BIG idea!

• Have you worked out your financials?
• Is there a demand for the product or service you will be offering?
• Will it be profitable?
• Is the business logistically achievable?
• How does your product or service differ from what is on the market?
• What are the risks and roadblocks?
• Will your products and services be viable in 5–10 years or will trends diminish their value?
• Have you discussed your business requirements with your accountant and a solictor to ensure you are setting up your business structure correctly?

2. Registering a business name

Once you you are clear on your business structure (whether trading as a sole trader, trust, company or partnership) and requirements, and you have decided on a business name, it is time to register it. Click on this link ‘Business Name Registration‘ to confirm your business name is available for registration. One thing to keep in mind when registering your business name is to check domain name availability also. Head to Siteground to and type in your business name as the domain name, ensuring you choose a .com.au domain if only servicing or selling within Australia.

3. Registering an ABN

Aus Gov. have now made it very easy to register most business essentials at the same time. When registering your business name, they will ask you whether you also need to register an ABN, and a company.

They then have a further selection of ‘Additional Registrations’ such as GST, PAYG, Fringe Benefits Tax, Luxury Car Tax, Fuel Tax Credits, and Wine Equalisation Tax. Unsure if any of the additional registrations will apply to your business? Click here to complete a quick survey on what you will need to register.

4. Getting the right licenses and permits

QLD Government have a great Business Launchpad evaluation tool to determine what licences and permits your business may need.

For all other states, choose from the below:

NSW  |  WA  |  VIC  |  SA  |  NT  |  TAS  |  ACT

5. Creating a business plan

There are plenty of free business plan templates you can download from the internet to help guide you through what is best practice for your business. Here is a template example from QLD Gov. to get you started.

6. Business branding and design

Business branding is an integral part of how you will represent your business. As you may be aware, this can be a costly exercise. Think about whether or not you have the capital to invest in this, and if your budget is lean, understand that there are affordable options to get you started, such as finding a designer on Fiverr, or designing your own logo using templates on Canva.

6. Getting your business ready to start trading

Will your business be trading from a public location, home, or just online? Will you be the sole worker in the business, or will you have employees? Have you setup your business bank accounts, and understand your tax requirements? A few more things to consider when readying for trading:

• do you have the correct insurances in place to protect your business (such as Public Liability, Product Liability, Professional Indemnity)
• business banking and daily limits (if you have employees)
• have you setup your payment gateways and POS (if required)
• dedicated contact details (email, phone number etc.)
• sufficient stock supplies
• if you are in a physical premise;
  • do you have the appropriate workplace procedures in place (such as Workplace Health & Safety, Fire & Emergency Procedures)
  • good signage and customer parking
  • staff facilities
  • utilities (such as electricity, water)

7. Setting up a powerful online footprint (website creation and business listings)

Building an online footprint, regardless of whether you are operating online or from a premise, is an absolute necessity for the success of your business. Finding the right website developer who understands SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is key to whether your website will be seen by your audience or not. Forbes listed investing in a great website as one of the top 5 business straegy must do’s!

Now, we may be bias because we are a digital agency, but investing in the right website to build a exceptional online footprint is the most powerful strategies your business can do. We work closely with our clients to ensure we have the perfect understanding of who their target audience and perfect customer is, and exactly what they are looking for when it comes to search engines to ensure their website ranks highly for every one of those keywords.

Get in touch with us today to discuss what we can do for your business!

8. Building a marketing plan

Following on from our last step, we truly believe the best marketing  your business can get is free, organic traffic from great SEO. It is targeted, precise and captures your most desirable audience. The one downside with fresh SEO on a new website is that it takes time for search engines to crawl your content and rank your website. In the meantime, we recommend focussing on regular social media content, and if you have the budget for it, some paid advertising such as AdWords.

9. Maintaining your business’s online presence

Just to hit home the importance of SEO and the power it has to drive traffic and leads to your website, we strongly recommend regular posting (either a blog or articles) and ongoing SEO updates and maintenance to keep your website up to date, relevant and competitive!

SEO is our jam, and we pride ourselves in the incredible results we get. We offer monthly SEO packages that start from citations and updates, to regular fully SEO’d written articles updated weekly. Talk to us today about our SEO services!