Hi guys, I'm after some advice regarding starting a home based buisiness.... I've been motor trimming on the side at home for a few years now but I'm readyfor a big change so I'd like to start doing it full time. Motor trimming, marine and upholstery. I've been doing some research but I'd like some real world opinions and expierences. What do I need to do! Abn, taxes, advertising??? Cheers for your advice.

Mick.

Look at TAFE, they do Small Business management courses.
These explain everything you need to know about ABN, BAS (tax) the whole lot.
Best to get the actual facts from professionals than people you don't know on a Car forum?

There's a bit more to running a small business than being good at your job, and knowing all about BAS,ABN,etc.

Some of the small business operators on here, with years of first-hand experience, could give some very helpful advice, I'm sure.

Quote:

Originally posted by HappyDaze There's a bit more to running a small business than being good at your job, and knowing all about BAS,ABN,etc. Some of the small business operators on here, with years of first-hand experience, could give some very helpful advice, I'm sure.

Start with your accountant, if you don't have one search and ask till you find one that you are happy / comfortable with don't be afraid to "interview" the possible accountant, don't be affraid to ask him or her what THEY can do for YOU and what they will EXPECT from you . just remember that what $ you were probably happy with as a sideline may not even cover expenses as a full time business.
Good Luck.

I just started a business from home, similar type thing doing something I'm good at and been doing on the side for years. Only thing is I'm selling product you're selling a service, and that means you can only exchange your time for money which limits you're income, unless you can get staff under you.

I've found that keeping my living expenses down has helped with getting started.

I recommend you learn what you can from Rich Shaeffron and Tim Ferris, they are marketing/biz guys that do a nice crash courses and their books have good ideas in.

The only thing you have to worry about is making a profit. dont get caught up in the small things, Set your prices on "what the market can bare". Who gives a shit about which accounting system or who your accountant is, as long as your bottom line is healthy you can allways pay someone to sort the other stuff out.

There is a very important, but simple, thing to remember.......It's not the 'turnover' that counts, it's the 'leftover'.

Hi Mick,

Before you leave your current job, ask you bank for a small line of credit 10-20k. Doesn't cost anything until you start to use it and takes 90% of the stress out of running a business. If a bill/house payment comes in you can just pay it rather than chasing bad payers.

Do speak to an accountant, they can do things like offsetting your first years GST & PAYE tax to help you get established and also setup an automatically calculated BAS returns. You only need to see them once, get everything established and then get to work.

Good luck,
Kevin

One important thing i have learnt is YOU need to get paid for your time no matter what, and the BUSINESS needs to make a profit, otherwise you are just working for a wage.

My wife is currently working full time and on a good wage which covers all our expenses. We could live on that wage if we had to but things would be very tight.

Consider this, if YOU are after a service and don't know anyone who does what you are after, then how do you find someone to do the job?, where do you look? OK now consider where YOUR customers are coming from, if word of mouth (the best advertising by far ) will do the job then goodo,when I was in business I found yellow pages worked best but it takes a while to kick off, as does word of mouth, (when's the next new edition of YP come out and how long before do you have to have it lined up? and don't think that one line in the YP will do, people just don't see it!).
I would also have to repeat the accountant thing, the wrong one or none at all would be a bad mistake, a good one will set you up the best way (sole trader, partner, company etc) and save you more than they will cost. I got the wrong one and I nearly went out of business before I started, swapped to the correct one and away I went with $ in my pocket.

I agree, advertising is something I need to do... How will people know I'm here if I don't right? I'll get onto an accountant and get things rolling.

Hi Mick,

The most effective bang for buck advertising you can get these days is a basic website with a weekly updated blog showing the projects you are working on. Google sees this as the gold standard and will return you on the first page as long as you add in half decent keywording.

I recommend to all my clients a company called squarespace.com. It's a DIY website & blog builder that you don't need any programming knowledge to setup, loads of great templates to choose from too, if you can use Word, you can build yourself a site. It also has add in ecommerce if you ever decide to start selling anything.

Good luck,
Kevin

If you get s

I've run my own business for 10 years now by myself and enjoy doing what I want when I want , I kicked it off by approaching other locksmiths to see if they needed an extra hand and ended up working for 4 locksmiths on a set daily rate , it paid my bills and I slowly built up advertising and clients a little bit tight on money as I had no spouse contributing $$ so you should be fine if you advertise right and do a good job .
Even offer to do some work at a cheaper rate to start with to get your work out here.

Thanks for the advice everyone, keep it coming! It's all very helpful...

I've just retired from my home based business after 18 years. During that time I ran my own company for 5 years before returning to a simple personal business. I'll try to explain why and what I know.

You can run a small business with a turnover (gross income) of less than $75,000 a year and not be registered for GST. These are"hobby" businesses. IMO GST is a pain. If you think you are going to be happy on this level of income or less then dont register for GST. And remember up around that level you are simply paying a lot of tax.

Your wife working full time will help a lot. But if she decides to work only part time then financially it could work better for you.

I'll give you an example

$50,000 her income full time
$70,000 small business income

you both pay taxes for each income. Instead

$20,000 her income part time
$20,000 her income as an employee for the business
$50,000 your income from the business

Your combined total income has gone from $120,000 to $90,000. $30,000 income loss. But is it? Thats $30,000 is all on the highest tax bracket. Speak to your accountant. Again its making the business work for you to also give your family a better quality of life.

If you are going to go over then register. Then you have to of course calculate income and expendature for the tax man, the problem is unless really disciplined, you have to come up with the GST every quarter and sometimes you might not have it. The tax dept dont give you much slack either. Add to that the accountants costs for the GST. Can become expensive.

Running a company. There are advantages and disadvantages. Advantages include the mandatory Workers compensation cover with the relevant State Govt authority. This covers you for- workplace accidents. But of course doesnt not cover you for sickness. Your company will have its own employee- you and anyone else that it employs and that could include your wife. She might be the goffer- she might pick up and collect items for you on her way home from work for example. She might be your secretary, book keeper and so it goes. Remember, running a business you must be cunning as opposed to sneeky. As Kerry Packer stated- "its the duty of every Asutralian to minimise tax, not avoid it". So, based on that it would be clever to include your wife on the payroll depending on your earnings.

Disadvantages: more accountant charges, ASIC yearly charge, it complicates things. Some smaller businesses that rely on larger businesses for subcontract work like you to run a company because it legally cuts loose any legal responsibilities they have with you. EG you run a courier truck and most of your work is from one company. You have an accident. If you have your own company you are covered with worers compensation. If you dotn it cn be argued that you are carrying out the bulk of your work for the bigger business and you sue them.

I ran a company and it was a complete waste of time. IMO. unless! you employ people outside your own family

If you want sickness, accident and loss of employment insurance be prepared for a hefty premium. You might only consider these if your wife ceases work and is totally dependant on your health for work.

Back to your small business. All you need is one folder in your office. In that folder you have dividers. They include- Invoices not paid, Register for invoices (this is a list with columns that include invoice number, date issued, to whom billed, amount, GST amount (if applicable), date due to be paid, when paid, date reminder letter sent.). Business receipts log (all costs, date amount and service. eg 21/10/2013 BP Seymour fuel $76.00) Invoices paid (these are the invoices moved from the front of the folder when paid), Remittances (these are from the payer),
- all in one folder.

Collect all business receipts for fuel, maintenance, tools, power etc. Once entered in business receipt area of your folder use a bulldog clip to keep them together. Every month or every 3 months bind them together and store them for 7 years- requirement.

Every year you will take out all these items for tax purposes and give them to your accountant. Also every year print off your business bank statement. Mark off your expenses on the statement so its clear. The less work he does for you the less his bill.

I think you will be fine. I also think, if disciplined you can make a go of your profession at home. Frankly I havent met an upolsterer that is organised and is a hard worker at home. Turn that tradition on its head with a good reputation and you'll be successful. Get involved with vintage car clubs, owners will travel for the right end result and word will spread and most are willing to wait for the item.

After a short time running your business from home will be easy as far as book work is concerned. One last thign- there is no friends in business. A friend asks you to do some work for you. You are running a business not a charity. Tell him you will do the job but you cannot afford to run your business on hot air. And demand a small deposit for items that you think the owner could discard easily. Like rusty old car seats. Be firm and fair and dont be affraid to knock back work if you smell a rat. You will be a business man number one and your actual profession number 2. This is where your mentality must change from employee and all rounf Mr nice guy to an articulate professional operator.

There, Mick, I knew you would get some good advice on this forum.

I've been in business for over 50 years - nearly half of this was working at home. Working at home is fine, but living at work is not....watch out for that one. Your customers must respect your 'after hours' time. Best wishes.

Greg

Try being 24/7 end of he day every business is different and advertising and approaching customers varies , these days everyone wants a result instantly and you have to put the effort and hours in to get paid

Massively helpful advice, thanks guys!

Tax loophole, run a "hobby" through a Facebook page, gain clients, reputation, following Etc, avoid the need for abn/bas/gst headaches, when you have the income & customer base, then convert to real world business, a few friends make decent coin doing that kind of thing.

Great advice above as I have also worked for myself for 35 years and over 1/2 of that from 'home', Tweetys last paragraph is awesome input, as was the whole post.

Do a small business course at WEA type to get heaps info for a couple of hundred dollars.

Work out your niche market to make sure you will survive in your area eg. cars etc is there enough cars being restored in your area to survive the first 12months.

DON'T LET ANY JOB GO OUT OF THE SHOP WITHOUT PAYMENT. SAVES AN EXTRA HUGE JOB OF CHASING MONEY THAT YOU MAY NEVER SEE AGAIN.

Need an eftpos machine as everyone pays with card.

Don't have accounts either. And get deposit for materials for big jobs before you start them. And it's good if your wife can o the books for you saves lots of money that you will have to pay an accountant or someone to do.

Advertise on your own vehicle have signage on it best advertise and letter box drops in your area. Advertise on facebook and forums and have your signature as your business add.

ABN
GST
Business name
insurance
If you already have full time jobs its best to get all your loans etc sorted before you start up.
you need to keep good records of income, as its a bit harder to get home loans etc when you are self employed.
As you need to show a few years of good income when self employed to get loans or cards.
ian
been self employed for the last 10 years.

go for it dude...oh I got a job for you to in the new year bus seat!