Sole trader start-up guide

Back yourself

You’ve done the thinking and now it’s time to go for it by making your own business. Back yourself! There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing your ideas turn into a success. So where to start? In this guide, we provide a quick start reference to help you get o the ground.

the idea

Turning your new idea into a potential business

Create your Plan on a Page, and try to define:

The customer problem your new product or service will solve
How you will build the solution to the problem
Your understanding of the competition, and if this solution already exists

know the challenges

Consider what it’s going to take to succeed.

Be prepared to sacrifice work / life balance
Know you are personally and legally responsible for your business
Plan and manage your cash flows ahead

RESOURCES:

Managing sole trader cash flows | Sole App

Document your strategy

There are an abundance of online business plan templates, check out some of our favourites below.

RESOURCES:

How to Write an Effective Business Plan | Sole App
Business.gov.au: Develop your business plan | business.gov.au
Commonwealth Bank Australia: How to write a business plan | business.gov.au

register your business

Formalise your business activities.

Make sure you register your business, and know your requirements:

RESOURCES:

Register for an Australian Business Number (ABN) | business.gov.au
Register your business name | business.gov.au
Tax Registration with the ATO: Tax differences between a sole trader and a company | business.gov.au

create and manage your budget

Forecast for your business and track your cash flows

Use a tool like Sole to manage, track and simplify your finances and accounting. It is also important to consider professional financial advice tailored to your business.

RESOURCES:

How To Budget & Forecast – A Guide For Sole Traders – Small Business, Freelancers | Sole App

understand laws and regulations

Australian business laws can be complex and are strict in order to protect consumers. Check out the following guidance:

Check out the following government guidance:
Legal essentials for business | business.gov.au
Fair trading laws | business.gov.au
Understand contracts | business.gov.au

manage your risks

Insurance that is tailored for your business may be important to consider to protect you against claims of professional negligence and third-party injury that may occur.

Identify your risks
Create a risk management plan
Reduce and control your risks with insurance

RESOURCES:

Business insurance | business.gov.au
Business Insurance For Sole Traders | Compare the Market
Sole Traders Guide to Public Liability Insurance | BizCover

get ready for tax time

You may not have an employer who will automatically take your tax out of your weekly paycheck – you will be responsible for managing it. Speak to a tax professional to help you identify if any of your expenses are tax deductible (you will need your receipts!).

Use Sole’s Tax Estimator to forecast your tax payments throughout the year.
You may not be required to pay yourself any super, but do some research to see what works for you.
Make sure that you are putting aside sufficient cash in order to make payments before the end of the year.

RESOURCES:
Talk about tax | Sole App

manage your marketing

Plan your approach for communicating your business to customers

Set up a website for your business.
Create and tailor your brand in order to distinguish your business from the rest
Build a strong social media presence.

Resources:
Free website creator | blog.hubspot.com
Free design tools | zapier.com
Social media 101 | business.gov.au

build, manage and learn

Be willing to take a chance on new ideas, and to be brave enough to learn from your mistakes when things don’t go according to plan. There are a number of great tools available to start ups to help them manage their business with low or no ongoing costs such as:

Jira Software and Confluence – Altassian (Jira and Confluence) use these tools to manage tasks, plan you deliverables and formalise your documentation
Google Workspace – Formerly Google suite (Gmail, Meet, Sheets and more) is free for individuals and easily scalable over time.

Keen to get started?

Why don't you try Sole for free today and see how it can help kick start the process for you!

Disclaimer: All information above is general in nature, and doesn't take any specific considerations about your business into account. Consult with professional business advisors and legel professionals when considering your needs.

You can download a pdf version of this guide here.