Now more than ever, people are deciding to kickstart their own businesses rather than remain in a 9 to 5 for the long haul. Though, there are a lot of factors and fundamentals that are imperative to know before taking the leap into starting your own business, and the knowledge that it isn’t as easy as it looks. Knowing how to kickstart a business takes a lot of time, dedication, and sacrifice.
If you have a business idea and you’re ready to take the next few steps into understanding how you can get your business started, continue reading our informative guide for an informative breakdown. If you’re wanting to speak to a team of trusted professionals for direction and more refined understanding, Taggart & Partners are here for you.
Get in touch with our expert team of business advisors today by calling us on (07) 3391 1188 or emailing our firm directly at enquiries@taggartandpartners.com.au.
A Guide on How to Kickstart a Business:
Understand the Intent
An idea remains an intangible thing until you put it into practice. When it comes to bringing your business idea to life, it’s all about the intent. Why do you want to start this business, what do you want to achieve and what do you hope your designated audience will gain from it? Generally, a business idea develops from inspiration when a gap in a market is noticed – this business must fulfill a need or offer someone something that is wanted.
Important fundamentals to consider could include:
- Is your idea unique – what can you do to make it even more so?
- Who are your customers going to be, and what are their needs?
- In what way are you filling the market gap?
- Consider manufacturers and suppliers.
Draft a Business Plan
The next part is one of the most important, as it’s essentially a draft on how you’re going to build your business from the ground up.
- What equipment are you going to need?
- How are you going to invest in that equipment
- How will you get the product or service out to your audience
- Do you need a physical location?
- Licences and permits
- Will you need to hire staff?
- Prices for your products or services – are they reasonable and competitive?
- Will that price also cover costs to make your business viable?
If you speak to a specialist business advisor about how to kickstart a business, these are some of the questions you’re going to be asked. Without a solid understanding of your actual market and plan, you won’t be able to move forward. Strategy and thorough planning are going to be your best friend in the very beginning, as your business idea needs a foundation to be able to grow from. Think of it as a garden. Your idea is a seed that’s being planted, and now you need to nourish and take care of the garden in order for it to flourish and continue to grow.
Set Realistic Short-Term Goals
It’s good to have long term goals in mind, but in the very beginning of your business venture, some short-term objectives are going to be a little more feasible for you. Think, working towards a specific sales target, working towards building a certain department in your business, bringing in a determined amount of profit by a certain date – there are a number of different short-term goals you can set, it all comes down to your business, your product or service, and your customers. The trick is to always ensure that these goals are simply realistic.
Get Your Finances & Budget Set
Building a business idea requires a considerable amount of investment – you can’t go into it thinking it’s going to come with no price attached. If you’ve ever heard “you need to spend money to make money”, the saying is alive and true. The first 12 months is where businesses generally fail, but it’s because people go into it expecting to make money back in that time. The first 12 months is generally where you want to be covering expenses until you’re turning over enough to cover costs.
In order to grow your business, money needs to be flowing into it – and even if you do end up making a large profit year on year, it is always good to continue to invest money from that profit back into the company. This is where you want to start minimising your personal expenditure and simplifying your lifestyle where possible to assist in saving money to accumulate capital for the business idea (this is where long term comes in).
Business Structure & Minimising Risk
From the beginning, you want to start separating your businesses finances from your personal finance. This sets you in a great routine, in the long run, from being able to keep your personal life personal (to an extent) and your business life in business. For people who are starting their own company, it’s important to draw a line, that way your foot isn’t on the pedal 24/7. Depending on the industry your business falls into, your risks and structure are going to be vastly different to another.
Three major L’s come into play here. Legislation, liability, and licensing. These three fundamentals are imperative requirements for your business, which will ensure you’re in compliance before the business even launches. Hiring professionals to guide you at this point is going to be a solid investment, and Taggart & Partners are here to be the ones to assist.
Our team of accountants and advisors are dedicated to providing our clients with realistic business solutions and optimal direction to make ideas a reality. We are here to lead you down a path of achieving solid business objectives, including asset protection, tax minimisation, risk mitigation and so much more. Whether you’re looking for assistance as a small business, medium business, or you’re someone just starting out and need a little bit of industry backed support, we’re here for you.
Contact Taggart & Partners Today!
As one of the leading SME accounting firms, we take pride in working collaboratively with our clients. We would love to start discussing your ideas with you and how to kickstart a business the right way. Give us a call on (07) 3391 1188 or email our team at enquiries@taggartandpartners.com.au if you have any queries or would like some more information. Alternatively, you can reach out through our online form, and we’ll be in touch.