Have you been sitting at home running through ideas of an ideal startup business that will change your life? Then it might be time to become your own boss. Whether you’re buying a premises or starting a home business, these great strategies will help you kick start your business and get you on your way.
Starting Your Business The Right Way
To start your business, you need to ensure you have the right people on your side. Meaning you need to get advice from a qualified professional on the best ways to structure your business, your accounting needs and everything in between. Ticking off all requirements for starting a business will ensure it’s successful in its infant stages, with a strong outlook for growth.
With the right accountant on your side, you will increase the likelihood of your business’ survival.
New Business Tax Planning
When you initially start a small business, you must get organised and understand your obligations and requirements. It’s also fundamental to stay up-to-date with compliance responsibilities (like the Single Touch Payroll).
To get your small business prepared for growth you should:
- Analyse your profit and loss: monthly, quarterly, annually
- Track revenue to ensure billing and collecting provides adequate cash flow
- Calculate the cost of doing business
- Devote more time to activities that are the most profitable and help grow your business
Your accountant can help you put a system in place that will keep your tax records organised and up-to-date throughout the year. This minimises fuss and added stress at the end of the financial year.
Systems
If you’re doing things a certain way because that’s how they’ve always been done, it may be time to cast a critical eye over your business procedures. For example, think are there:
- Better and more efficient ways of doing things?
- Technologies to simplify processes such as point-of-sale (POS) systems?
- Ways to automate manual processes like running reports or paying regular accounts?
Track Your Business
Regularly reviewing your business’ performance, trends, and cash flow can eliminate surprises by spotting potential problems and identifying supply and demand patterns.
You can:
- Analyse data from previous years or seasons
- Look for peaks and troughs in sales/turnover/productivity
- Identify what worked and what didn’t
Plan To Grow!
Once you know where you are, you can look for ways to move forward.
Whatever your business’ growth strategy, be sure you have the resources to support it. Consider whether you’ll need to invest in machinery, supplies or specialist staff. Now, update your business plan and review it regularly to stay focused on where you’re heading.
Starting (and then running) your own business is hard work but it’s also one of the most satisfying things you can do. Richard Branson once said, “A business is simply an idea to make other people’s lives better.”
So, this new financial year, start refreshed and set yourself up to make your life, your family’s life and your customers’ lives better.
If you are planning to start a business, the team at WM Wright & Co are here to help and guide you. Contact us today to learn more.
