The Ultimate Guide to Starting A Small Business

The Ultimate Guide to Starting A Small Business

Are you keen to dive into the world of entrepreneurship? If so, good choice! Running a business can be a great way to earn a living, even if it’s you’re just starting small with a side hustle.

That said, be warned, the journey towards launching your small business venture won’t be easy. Whether it’s your first time operating a business or not, the process of opening up a business is long and arduous. It requires grit, determination, and unwavering commitment.

However, with the right guidance and some opportune moments, it’s more than possible to set yourself up for entrepreneurial success. It just takes a little bit of thoughtful strategising to get there.

Without further ado, let’s break down the steps you need to follow to launch, grow, and orient your small business towards future success. Let’s jump right into it!

Define and Know Your Offering

The first thing entrepreneurs must do before formalising their business dreams is to ideate and create an actual product or service to launch to the public. Without an offering, you might as well be begging for spare change.

That said, knowing the best product or service offering to serve the public can be quite difficult. There are many ways you can approach finding the best offering—from brainstorming and researching profitable product ideas online to solving a specific problem and developing a solution yourself. Set some time aside to reflect and find an offering you genuinely believe in.

Your first prototype won’t automatically be your star product. You’ll have to refine it and set it apart from the competition in one way or another. But by having a well-defined and quality product idea, you’ll make it much easier for your future self to catch your target audience’s eyeballs in the long run.

Create a Business Plan and Structure

The second step to starting a business is to make a concrete business plan. A business plan serves as the guidebook in which your business operates.

It contains crucial business information such as your organisational structure, mission, vision, target market, and unique value proposition. It also includes your various growth and operational strategies.

Having a business plan is crucial not just for the sake of orderliness. It also helps you align yourself and your team towards your business’s core mission. It’s also useful for investors and lenders to gauge whether your business has promise, which can grant you access to some equity.

As mentioned earlier, within the business plan is your organisational structure. This is no small matter—as the organisation structure dictates how your business is run and the extent of its liabilities.

Most entrepreneurs opt for a simple structure like a sole proprietorship. However, if you don’t want to risk the seizure of your assets in case of bankruptcy, a corporation or LLC would be better.

Register Your Business Legally

It’s vital to formally register your business before initiating any money-making activities. This is to ensure that you’re compliant with local laws, which are established to ensure that the community is safe and better off with your business around.

The business registration process differs based on where you’re from and the organisational type you’re using. In Australia, you have a few things to cross off in the registration checklist before you can start operating your business.

The first is a business name. You’ll have to review the availability of your business name by cross-checking it on the Australian Business Register (ABR). Once it’s cleared, register it through the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

The next thing to do is to get an Australian Business Number or an ABN. This number is your business’s tax and invoicing identity. You can apply for it on the Australian Business Register website.

Depending on your industry, you should also get the necessary licences and permits to operate. These permits show that your company has been cleared to render services or sell products that may need specific compliances. You should check in with a legal professional and do your research beforehand to know what type of license you need to operate legally.

Lastly, ensure that you comply with ATO requirements. Register for Goods and Services Tax (GST) if you’re expected to turnover $75,000, for instance. This ensures that you’re paying your legal dues legitimately, which helps you avoid penalties and fees down the line.

Create a Brand Identity

Once you’re done processing your registration (or in the middle of it), you should establish your brand identity. This is the core marker of what sets your business apart from other businesses offering a similar product or service. It’s also the primary identifier for your customers and the first thing they’ll think about—so be sure to set a good first impression with a well-thought-out and creative brand.

Your brand is more than just your business’s brand name. It’s something that defines your company, with and without words. The colour and font of your brand make a big impression on how your business is perceived. The logo must also be thoughtfully developed and aligned with your business’s core values.

The way your company carries itself on social media and in physical stores (through your employees) also speaks a lot about your branding. It can either be sophisticated and formal or playful and proactive.

In any case, be sure that your brand evokes the right feelings in your customers to get them to trust you. When done right, you can transform one-time customers into lifelong advocates for your brand.

Formalise Operational and Financial Systems

You’ll probably have some operational and financial kinks to work through during the initial stages of your business. After all, you’re still starting and getting a feel for things—and that’s okay.

That said, you shouldn’t be complacent about creating and crafting the perfect system—even during its earliest stages.

On the operational side of things, outline a standard operating procedure (SOP) for core activities within the business, from supply chain management to production. This ensures that quality remains consistent and that deliverables are made at a consistent quality and on time.

You should also set up a solid accounting and financial system. Make sure to open a separate business bank account and track transactions and cash flow systems properly. You should have systems for several financial functions in place, like invoicing and creating monthly financial statements.

Constant and meticulous monitoring helps you stay on top of your business’s performance, thus giving you the information you need to change certain activities to remain afloat.

Invest in Tools and Assets

There’s no two ways about it: the right tools are essential in helping your business achieve growth and long-term success.

There is some equipment that any business can benefit from, like an EFTPOS system or an inbound number from providers like Telcoworks to receive customer inquiries nationwide.

There are also industry-specific assets that may be better suited for some companies and not for others, like a perishable good inventory management system or a company car.

In any case, it’s essential to consider your operational needs and choose assets and tools that can help improve your company’s productivity and good delivery.

With the right tools, you can free up resources and scale more easily—all while keeping your customers satisfied. In short, a win-win.

Market Your Business

Finally, your up-and-coming company needs to develop a robust marketing strategy to reach and resonate with your target audience.

As a new entrant to the industry, getting eyeballs into your business is an uphill challenge. If your marketing strategy is anything short of great, then it can be very difficult to turn in a profit and scale your business.

As such, it’s essential to market your business with the right mix of marketing tools and marketing strategies. For starters, get a good idea of your customer’s average persona and their purchasing behaviour.

Once done, launch an omnichannel marketing strategy to launch your business to this target audience. You may use a combination of digital avenues like content marketing, email, social media, and even physical marketing strategies to get your brand known.

It’s also essential to continuously keep an eye on your marketing campaign’s performance and make any adjustments if necessary. This can help you optimise your marketing budget while still maintaining a solid foothold in your particular industry. When done right, you can foster brand loyalty and make your brand known to the greater public.