There is no magic solution to creating the perfect business profile, which is essential if you are starting up a business. Lets take for example, a café. Once you have thought about your idea and know what your vision is to create, then its time to get serious. By that I don’t mean throwing a whole bunch of money to see it come into reality, but to plan, plan and plan some more.
The planning starts with, you guessed, a business plan. And as dull as it might be to write, it is essential that you create one. Banks need to see a good business plan before even considering a loan of money, but even if you are self funding your investment, then a business plan is still an essential part of creating a good business. It not only lets you see everything you want, written down but retells of how you are going to achieve what it is that you want while asking the difficult questions that you may not have previously thought about. You can hire people to do a business plan but personally I think that both you and your business will benefit more if you specifically write it.
Writing the plan will help you to visualize what you want to create from a design point; do I want café umbrellas? What about Café Barriers? Where is my location, can I use that to decide on my design? If you are looking for some cafe umbrellas or cafe barriers in Brisbane, click here.
But it also helps you to understand the problems with your business by asking things like: Who is my competition? Will I get council approval for this? How do my prices match my target audience?
Its by answering these questions that you really begin to not only see the cracks that could bring your business down, but fill them before they even get the chance.
Council approval is another bridge you will need to cross. Health and Safety in food or otherwise is a very important standard here in Australia and not only will you need to abide by national laws, but local councils tend to have their own set of rules as well. In fact, speaking with your council is something I would encourage you to make your first point of call, even before setting up your business plan. Take your idea (even if it is seemingly vague) and present it to the council (Not formally though as that costs money and should only be done after you have all information at hand). Hopefully they will be able to tell what kind of business you will be classed as and should you be selling food, you will need to have the right permits, safety equipment and general food hygiene plans in place. The reason I say to visit the council before you start on your business plan is they may add things to your plan; if you are a café at a market, they might say you need a durable market canopy, which in turn alters your plan.