Setting up a small business

I operate a small business. In 2004 I was asked by an adult educational institution in Perth, Challenger TAFE, to devise and deliver a course on setting up a small business. This ran successfully for three years until I moved on to other things. I met all sorts of people, some of whom went on to set up their own businesses and some who decided their idea just wasn't viable. It's a dream for many of us to be self-employed.

What I'm setting out to achieve in this section is to open your eyes to the important issues involved in this topic. For instance, if you take this route, your life is going to CHANGE, so you must have the backing of your family (if you have one).

Consider this:-

75% of new small businesses fail in their first year

That's a pretty scary thought.

Then there's the old adage:-

Fail to plan and you plan to fail

Nothing could be more true. So that's the starting point.

I've divided this section into four parts, namely:

1. Planning
2. Key issues (e.g. company structure, employment etc)
3. Taxation, finance and accounting
4. Marketing

Click on each link for more detail. You'll also find lots of links to resources, such as government agencies, which I found very helpful in compiling the course I delivered. Though many of these relate to doing business in Australia, those of you overseas will still find plenty of useful information.

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