How to set up a successful home business – Part 4

Celebrating the goals is important when you’re undertaking any task, especially during the hard slog of setting up a new business. Let’s take a moment to reflect on what you’ve achieved so far:

• You’ve determined this is the right time to let your idea blossom into a business
• You’ve started working hard to ensure that it’s a successful one. You recognise how your work is different than a hobby, you’ve created physical and mental spaces to work in, and you’re getting involved in the community online and maybe even person.
• You’ve reviewed the paperwork you need to fill out and addressed any questions that have arisen. You’ve determined what kind of business you are as well as your structure.
• You’ve decided on a business name.

Congratulations! We know that those few dot points are dripping with your sweat and tears, but there’s more to get through.
Securing your business name
Now that you’ve created the perfect business name it’s time to secure it. In part 3 we addressed reviewing the necessary paperwork, so hopefully you should be ready to go. Register your business name as soon as possible, and if you want protection you can take the additional step of registering your business name as a trademark. While the majority of home businesses will be sole traders, partnerships, or family businesses, just remember that if you are starting a company in Australia you must be registered with ASIC.
Register your domain name & phone number
Even if you’re not ready to set up your website just yet, you want to secure the domain name for when you are. You don’t want to go through all of the work of finding the perfect business name, registering it, and then missing out on the domain name! You also want it to be easy to remember, spell, and pronounce so that you can easily direct people to it. Too many times I’ve been given a website that I couldn’t remember because it was too long or awkward.
Now is also the perfect time to obtain a phone number that is equally recognisable and professional. Not every person feels comfortable purchasing products or services online and you want to be approachable by your entire target market. Zintel offers 1800 numbers in Australia as well as 1300 numbers, so contact them today.
“The only two certainties in life are death and taxes” – Mark Twain
Sure, taxes aren’t romantic, but it’s necessary that you get yours sorted and organisation is important here. You must organise taxes for your business in Australia which includes having a Tax File Number (TFN) – which you should already have, and perhaps registering for an Australian Business Number (ABN) or an Australian Company Number (ACN). If you sell goods and services you may have to register for Goods and Services Tax (GST), and if you pay salaries or wages you are required to register for Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding. You may also be required to register for Payroll Tax and Fringe Benefits Tax, depending on your business and situation. There’s also other registrations, licenses, insurances, and taxes you may have to consider (such as fuel tax credits or luxury car tax). This might look overwhelming now, but just go through the options and seek a professional if you’re not feeling confident. They’ll have you sorted out in a minute (and a few dollars).
We hope you’ve found our 4 part series helpful, we’ve had a blast writing it! If you’ve had success in starting your own home business, let us know in the comments things that worked, or didn’t work, for you.