Everything You Need To Know About Starting A Company In Australia

The club of those who have taken the gamble, backed themselves and taken the leap into starting their very own business is an exclusive and elusive club. The people who start their own business are brimming over with ambition, ingenuity, confidence and most importantly imagination. To quote perhaps the world’s best known inventor, Albert Einstein, ‘logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.’

If you’ve got the sort of personal skills, gumption, guts and killer ideas that could make an amazing business then, first of all, congratulations, and, second of all, here is everything you need to know about starting a company in Australia! 

Have The Idea.

No, not just any idea, not even just a great idea, an absolutely killer once in a lifetime, show stopping idea. You can turn it over in your head as much you want but, deep down, you’ll likely know that this idea deserves to be followed through on. No matter what that idea is, if you’re confident in that idea, you owe it to yourself to try and pursue it.

Find A Gap And Fill It! 

Yes, you need to have the epic idea but, beyond that, your business will never get off the ground if it doesn’t correspond to a need in the market. To quote Brian Chesky, the co-founder of Airbnb, "if we tried to think of a good idea, we wouldn’t have been able to think of a good idea. You just have to find the solution for a problem in your own life.” No matter how good your idea is, you have to be sure you can do it in a unique way. Crucial, you also have to make sure it is needed. Find a niche and stick to it. When you’re creating your business plan, it’s important to be incredibly clear and specific about what you’re going to do, how you’re going to do it and why your approach will be different and allow you to compete in the crowded market of new businesses.

Take Care Of All The (Boring) Paperwork.

Registering a company in Australia can feel overwhelming to a first time business owner. There are some simple steps you can take on your own but for other more complicated steps you might want to consider consulting an expert like an employment lawyer or a business consultant. Let’s focus on the simple things first. Applying for an ABN (Australian Business Number) is a simple and necessary step you must take before you start a business in Australia. Head to this website to apply for your ABN (it’s a simple process and they’ll talk you through the steps). There are some scams out there so make sure you are only giving your information to the official government website and remember,the ABN application process is a completely free process so you shouldn’t be providing your credit card details on this website. 

Try, try and try again!

Failure is more important than success in that we learn more from the lessons of failure than we ever do from successes. As a society we put a lot of pressure on succeeding and we tend to try and minimise our failures rather than to celebrate them. To quote Bill Gates, a man who we can agree was a major success, ‘it’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.’ One person who has found success from celebrating failures is Elizabeth Day, host of the How To Fail podcast - we recommend checking it out as it will help you cope with the inevitable setbacks that come with starting a business.

Remember to cut yourself some slack, starting a new business is undeniably challenging and even seasoned entrepreneurs will still make mistakes. Put simply, everyone is fallible. The first few days, weeks, months, or even years of your journey as a new business owner might be rocky but, if you have confidence in yourself and your vision you’ll be able to turn your dream into a reality!