How to Start a Small Business in Australia in 2024

If you’re stuck on how to start a small business in Australia, start your journey from scratch in 8 steps and make your dream business official!

At last, you’ve finally decided to be your own boss and pursue your dreams—and the thing is, many seem to be thinking the same thing.

In fact, there were over 406,365 new business entries in the Australian market in 2023.

But the question is, “How can I start a small business with no money?

Stop fretting—we’ll teach you the essentials of how to start a business in the Down Under, step-by-step. We’ve also included some lucrative small business ideas that you can start in Australia from home without making much of a financial investment.

It’s all here!

How Do I Start My Own Business from Scratch?

It’s no easy feat to start a business. There are a lot of trials and errors, ups and downs, but with the right support and resources, success can be achieved.

Read on and find out the answers to that one question that keeps on bugging you: “How do I start a simple small business in Australia?”

  • Conduct Research

    Research will tell you a lot of things you need to know to turn your business idea into a successful reality. From your potential customers to the businesses you’ll be competing with, market research gives you valuable information and insight upfront, helping you identify the business space that you can fill.

  • Create a Business Plan

    Understand that the very foundation of your business is your business plan. It’s like a blueprint for your new business, guiding you on how to design and run it carefully. Additionally, this document is what you use to convince potential investors that partnering with you is a smart choice.

    But even if you choose to self-finance, a business plan is still helpful to spot potential challenges along the way.

    When it comes to writing your business plan, here are the sections that you should include:

    • Market analysis of your target market, competitive environment and market size.

    • Executive summary of all the necessary information about your business; the goals of your company and the ways to achieve them.

    • Your mission and what you intend to accomplish.

    • The company description covers what makes your business idea a great one.

    • The type of your organization

    • What products do you offer, or how your business will operate?

  • Work on Your Finances

    Once you have a business plan, it will be easier for you to figure out how much money you need to fund your business. If you don’t have enough cash, you can borrow from family or with a credit card or raise the capital you need from personal savings.

    However, if you want to minimize the risks associated with all those options, you can try external funding such as business grants or venture capital. It doesn’t matter what source you use; always plan for profit.

  • Choose the Right Business Structure

    When deciding which business structure to go for, you have to consider how it can impact your daily operations, the risks and the taxes you will owe.

    In Australia, there are 4 business structures that you can use.

    • Sole Proprietorship

      As a sole trader, you’re carrying the business on your own and assume all financial liabilities. You can trade under your name or your business name. Also, you get taxed the same way as those individual tax papers.

      This is the simplest form of business structure with very low establishment costs and minimal legal requirements.

    • Partnership

      As the word implies, there are two or more people who manage the business together. Like sole proprietorship, this is also inexpensive to establish and operate. Everyone in the partnership shares the income and the losses of the company.

    • Trust

      Under this business structure, a trustee owns the assets and runs the company on behalf of the beneficiaries of the trust. There’s a formal deed involved, so this can be quite expensive and complicated to administer.

      The great thing about it, though, is the flexibility you enjoy in income distribution.

    • Company

      A company is governed by shareholders, and every one of them receives company profits in the form of dividends. The shareholders can minimize personal liability and are not responsible for any incurred company debts.

      Since companies are associated with Corporation laws and ongoing compliance costs, building a company can be very costly.

  • Register Your Business and Get Your ABN

    Once you’ve already chosen your business structure, you can start addressing legal issues, starting with your ABN (Australian Business Number).

    ABN is a special 11-digit number that serves as an identification of your business to the government and others when ordering.

    In Australia, if you’re providing services to other companies, or earning over $75,000 every year, you’re obligated to get an ABN for your business.

    Make your business legal and protect your brand. Legal requirements vary depending on your type of industry and jurisdiction. There’s always a mix of local and state licenses to accomplish. So, we suggest checking with the government offices or calling an attorney for business registration information.

  • Apply for Insurance

    Even if your business is managed from home and you don’t have employees, you still need insurance.

    Here’s the thing; if you have employees, it’s compulsory to pay for worker’s compensation insurance when running a business in Australia. There’s also income protection insurance that will protect you when you’re unable to work due to an accident or sickness.

    Depending on the risks that you might face, there are various types of insurance that you need as your company grows.

  • Find Clients and Scale Your Business

    Now, you’re ready to earn money and scale. To do that, you need to expand your customer base through your marketing campaigns and continuous product development efforts. Or you can work on what you already and creatively offer your products.

    When scaling, you have to track your finances and make sure you’re still earning. If you’re not profitable, you need to find ways to cut costs or increase revenue.

What Is the Easiest Business to Start?

Of the 2.5 million registered businesses in Australia in 2023, a great 97.3% of them are classified as small businesses, only having 20 or fewer employees.

Despite being “small,” these businesses actually boost the Australian economy, making billions of dollars every year.

So, if you want to follow in their footsteps and make it on your own, here are the most profitable and easiest businesses to start in Australia that require minimal costs and a little training.

  • Tutoring

    There are no formal qualifications for you to become a tutor. However, it may help if you have previous teaching experience.

    Tutoring is a very accessible and thriving business, not just in Australia but anywhere else in the world. There are plenty of tutoring platforms online that you can leverage to create remote lessons and widen your clientele.

  • Home Cleaning Service

    You will have no shortage of work in the home cleaning service industry. This is perhaps one of the easiest businesses to kickstart, where you can experience success once you receive great feedback.

    It’s a low-entry business where you only need cleaning supplies to get started.

  • Personal Assistant Services

    If you’re great with spreadsheets and organizing schedules, you can flourish as a personal assistant. With just a laptop and the internet, you can book clients from all over the world and start earning money.

  • Virtual Shop

    Selling online is probably one of the most lucrative businesses out there that you can easily start. You can use online marketplaces like Etsy to set up a store and sell handmade products.

  • Pet Sitting Service

    Are you an animal lover? If you are, this is probably the best business for you to try that’s trending. Many pet-sitting opportunities are waiting for you in many residential areas in Brisbane or Hamilton.

    No equipment is required, just a positive reputation that will get pet owners to trust you to look after their pets at home.

  • Mobile Food Business

    No matter how business trends shift, the food business will never go out of style.

    Bringing fast and healthier options to the masses at an affordable price in a moving kitchen is always worth the buzz. Due to this, a mobile food hub is a top business idea.

Ready to Start a Business in Australia?

With a robust and stable economy, Australia is one of the best places to start a business…from scratch.

But if you need help setting up and more time to focus on growing the business, instead of worrying about the mundane, repetitive tasks, start delegating to a virtual assistant.

VAs can help you streamline operations so that you can work efficiently.

Leverage the power of virtual assistant services and discover what it means to work meaningfully.

Latest Articles