Fitness
While launching a business is no doubt exciting, it’s a given that all business owners who aspire to success arm themselves with the best information they have at hand. That’s why OneMusic connected with top industry experts to uncover the most essential game-changing tips to get you well on your way whether you’re a first-time business owner or seasoned pro. From intellectual property to media and marketing, strategy, and market research, learn from the best with our ultimate small business guide.
Business owners should take care to secure the appropriate trademarks, patents, and copyrights needed to safeguard their unique ideas and processes to avoid costly rebranding and protect their competitive edge. For guidance they should consult IP Australia.
Business owners must obtain the proper licences or permissions needed to use materials protected by copyright - like music, images, books and videos - to avoid possible infringement and penalties. Such licences can be easily obtained through organisations like OneMusic Australia which permits access to a vast range of popular music from all over the world.
Collaborating with smart platforms like First Table opens up more options for businesses looking to expand their operations. Platforms which are tailored to your industry are a great way to optimise operations, market your business, and boost revenue. Rather than cut back during quiet periods, they are a powerful way to boost a new or existing business.
Invest in public relations and marketing to build brand awareness and credibility with your target audience. PR is a tried-and-true way to engage with traditional media and influencers alike. This will increase exposure for your fledgling business and creates consistent, authentic messaging.
Work with a good accountant to establish a solid foundation for your business. Key aspects involve managing debt, tax and super effectively. Avoid unnecessary debt as much as possible and focus on building up your core business to keep it in good shape.
Business owners frequently get caught out when it comes to maintaining healthy cash flow and establishing a supportive network of mentors and peers. When launching a new business, it pays to have a good grasp of your business’ financial projections as well as a few go-to contacts to turn to for advice when the going gets tough.
Business owners should create clear boundaries, manage distractions, and maintain social connections to counterbalance the cons of working from home. Though work from home has many benefits, productivity and work-life balance can suffer without strong boundaries in place. They should also be aware of the benefits of being at their physical establishment more often and act accordingly.
Learning to set and review goals as a business owner is a specific skill that needs to be practiced with a healthy dose of reality. Business owners should establish meaningful, realistic goals that are aligned with their values. They should regularly review and adjust them based on their relevance and overall progress, and they should seek feedback to ensure they stay on track. Most importantly, business owners should remember to celebrate milestones big and small as they progress in their journey.
Outside of leveraging expert advice to collate and present market research insights, business owners should stay on top of industry trends, customer demand, and market dynamics to realistically project growth. These professional insights and data go a long way to refine strategies and establish meaningful business objectives.
Building a successful business requires business owners to juggle competing priorities and learn countless skills. Along the way it’s equally important to cultivate a mindset of continuous learning and constant experimentation. Remember that every step, setbacks and all are part of the journey, and each win and loss ultimately contributes to your growth as a business owner. These expert strategies are just the starting point in making your business thrive.
Securing intellectual property (IP) should be one of the first things business owners need to tick off the list. Registering a business trading name is an important step because it protects names and ideas in their various formats whether as a trademark, patent, or copyright. The main advantage is that it avoids a costly re-brand further down the line where business owners are forced to market themselves under a new logo and name.
Trademarks identify and protect logos, words, phrases, names, scents, and other branding while patents exist to protect inventions and new processes. Ideally business owners should look to trademark anything in their business model that sets them apart from the rest.
If you have a unique formula for a product or a particular way of doing things, it’s critical that you patent it from the very start of your business journey. This ensures your original creations will not be used by other brands, and gives you rights to license it to other manufacturers at your own discretion. Find out more information on how to protect your intellectual property with IP Australia.
Business owners might not be aware that most businesses require a licence to be able to legally use material that is protected by copyright. Using copyright material in a business without permission from the owner of that works not only deprives creators and owners of their royalties but can result in legal and financial penalties for the business owner.
Copyright materials can be, but are not limited to, words, images, music, and videos. Simply playing music on a commercial premises without a licence can constitute a breach of copyright that can put businesses on the hook for thousands of dollars in fines and court action.
Usually business owners can get permission to use copyright materials from organisations which provide licences for their use. These are known as ‘collecting societies’, bodies which have been formally given the right to license the copyright that is owned by their members and associates such as writers, artists, photographers, publishers, and songwriters.
When a business owner obtains a licence from a collecting society, it saves them from having to get permission from each individual owner every time they want to, for instance, display a picture or play a song. Instead, the collecting society’s licence will cover them for all the copyright material in their repertoire, which is typically vast amounts of material.
Because music is protected by copyright, if business owners want to play music in or for their business, including for staff or customers, they need to get permission from an organisation like OneMusic Australia.
As Australia’s primary music rights management organisation, OneMusic offers a vast repertoire of popular music from around the world. A business needs simply to acquire an annual licence which will protect your business from legal action for copyright infringement for both the written songs and the recordings of those songs owned by the members and associates of the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS) and the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA).
It is not uncommon for head offices of franchises to obtain and manage OneMusic licences for all franchisees under one licensing agreement. It is important to note that you should check with your franchisor on which licences you may be covered for. Many will not, and you may need to take out your own licence for your store location.
If your business needs to copy and share written works and images such as books, news, media, photos, illustrations, and artwork, you can get an annual licence through the Copyright Agency. They can also assist with direct licensing of visual artists for commissioned work such as a mural, book cover or licensed product.
As experts in the hospitality business, First Table has developed a business that helps restaurants fill seats in the quieter hours by incentivising customers with discounts and other rewards to keep them coming back again and again. A restaurant discovery and marketing platform rolled into one genius app, First Table’s mission is to increase profitability and grow their members’ businesses.
Some important things to keep in mind when optimising your business services in any industry is to identify the gaps in your business to boost revenue and use the tools around you to expand.
An effective way to boost revenue is to offer incentives, discounts and other promotions while your business is already running. For example the ideal time to push customer engagement is when your doors are open, the music is on and you already have an overflow of capability. This might mean signing up to First Table to fill excess capacity or strategically using 'last minute' eDMs to draw in sales. Evidence suggests targeted discounts can be a great way to strategically increase sales.
Use the tools around you to expand instead of shrinking. Often when a business is quiet, owners think their first option is to limit open times and cut back on services. This is the reverse of scaling-up and can be a slippery slope to a business folding. But with so many third party tools available to capitalise on current operations like First Table for hospitality, ClassPass and MindBody for the fitness industry, and point of sale systems for service and retail businesses, business owners have more options than ever to strengthen their business.
For example POS systems allow business to streamline processes, inventory, sales and accounts. This improves workflow and increases staff capacity. It frees up time for other tasks that often need creativity like marketing and business development. Instead of limiting themselves, businesses should consider thinking outside the box and making the most of the amazing resources on offer.
Understanding and capitalising on media opportunities is crucial for Australian businesses, especially in industries where copyright, licensing, and intellectual property concerns are significant. Public Relations (PR) plays a key role in this process, fostering a positive public image and optimising media access for brands. Unlike marketing, which involves paid promotions, PR emphasises 'earned' media coverage through authentic engagement with various media channels.
Successful PR campaigns can enhance brand credibility through diverse and comprehensive media coverage. In today's digital landscape, 'media' includes influencers, bloggers, podcasters, and social media platforms, which offer additional avenues for brand exposure. Consistent messaging, respecting intellectual property rights, and cultivating strong media relationships are essential for maximising the impact of PR strategies.
The first rule of marketing is understanding your audience and knowing where and how to find them. Once you have a good idea of your target demographic, profile them to understand what media they consume. This is where you can consolidate what media outlets to pitch to and advertise with. Study similar products and services to your brand, see what media they interact with, and what innovative ideas are working to spark their attention.
Ultimately PR is just one component of a marketing strategy but an important one. PR helps brand awareness and manages brand reputation. Often brands use agencies to help build effective PR campaigns, but you can do this activity in-house. Activities in PR include reaching out to media, collaborating with social media influencers, holding events for media to attend and everything in between.
Before doing anything else, business owners must ensure their tax, super, registration, and books are in perfect order. Business structures are like the blueprint of your business adventure, selecting the right structure is crucial. Whether you set up as a sole trader, partnership, or company, it's like finding the perfect fit for your business.
Thankfully there’s no need to go it alone. Before launch, owners should find an accountant they’re comfortable with to work with them. Compare options if you’re not confident; a good accountant should help you navigate tax, understand financial fluctuations, and assist with a business plan. If you’ve got a business idea, they’ve probably helped with something similar before, so are excellently placed to help avoid pitfalls. As a bonus they also tend to have contacts (legal, insurance, finance, etc.) they trust, to help reduce the amount of guesswork involved in sourcing professional help. They will consider which structure aligns best with your goals and aspirations.
Business owners should focus on their core business and establishing a solid foundation is key. If they tie themselves down in debt, or don’t put tax money aside, they’ll likely find that financial stress can end a business faster than it started. With that in mind, manage your budget well, and don’t listen to the salesman trying to sell you shiny new gear unless you can afford it.
Bonus tip: don’t be afraid to DIY. A business requires capital - so if you don’t have cash, capitalise your own time and abilities and get creative. If you’re just starting out, and find you have more time than customers, take the opportunity to learn a new skill, or revive an old one like graphic design, bookkeeping, interior design, painting or IT that would be useful within your business.
Starting a new business can be both exciting and daunting. The first things on the agenda for new business owners are good financial planning, and building a network of industry contacts for support and guidance. These have been important for me in setting up and running my own business, Kadence Group.
Financial planning and managing income and outgoings, which are like the rhythm and groove of your business's finances. I had no idea about cash flow forecasting when I first started out in business, but it has changed how I approach everything in business. Super nerdy, I know, but I love a really detailed cash flow forecast! Finances can be really daunting, but there is power in knowledge.
You need to anticipate your income and expenses. You'll want to keep a close eye on your finances, make informed decisions, and ensure your evolving financial situation is always in sync with your business goals. If it’s not, then you best be hustlin’ to implement some income-producing activities to keep the money coming in.
Building a support network can provide invaluable guidance and assistance. Small business is isolating; and unless they’ve done it themselves, friends and family can’t fathom the journey you’re about to embark upon. You carry the entire weight of the business. There’s no union or employment award, and there’s no regular pay cheque in the early stages.
Surrounding yourself with mentors, industry experts, and fellow business owners can offer insights, advice, and inspiration. Attend networking events, join industry associations, participate in online communities to expand your connections and tap into a wealth of knowledge and resources to create a community that can fuel your success.
Starting a new business can be an exciting adventure, so don't forget to enjoy the ride. Embrace the challenges, learn from the hurdles and celebrate the victories. Be curious and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Collaborating with like-minded individuals and learning from their experiences can save you from potential traps and help you navigate the ups and downs of life as a business owner.
When starting a business, it can be appealing to spend more time working from home due to it being cost effective and a way to get some quiet time to do book keeping, rosters, and social media posts. But when you’re running a bricks-and-mortar business, it pays to be on site more often than not.
Since COVID, working from home has skyrocketed in popularity with reports of increased productivity, more flexibility, less interruptions by co-workers, decreased stress and cost connected to commuting and so on. On the downside, there are plenty of domestic distractions to keep you procrastinating, and boundaries can easily slip away in a home office environment.
There is another big consideration before launching into work from home. If you’re a social creature who thrives off the energy of others or running a business with a physical location, you might need strategies on how to mitigate loneliness and actively cultivate a community that will allow you to feel connected and energised. Cafes, retail stores, event venues, community hubs and more all benefit from the visible presence of its owner so that patrons can attach a face to the establishments they love to visit the most.
So how do you maximise your work from home operation in your first year of business without it having an impact on your work-life balance and mental health?
First, assess your ability to manage yourself. Can you build self-awareness around the obstacles you might face when working from home? These might be around time management, procrastination, self-discipline and remembering to practice self-care. Once you’ve identified potential barriers, you can take steps to manage these with the help of a friend, coach, or mentor.
Be sure to put boundaries in place and protect them. Some examples of boundaries might be having a designated area where work takes place and another for when rest and recreation happens, creating dedicated time slots for work and personal activities.
You may want to advise your clients of expected response times and when you’ll be unavailable throughout the day. When setting boundaries, it’s helped to be clear on when your working day begins and ends and communicate this to clients and anyone you share your space with. Having boundaries includes learning how to say no to others when you need to and recognising when self-boundaries might be necessary (for example, resisting the temptation to sneak in extra work on weekends).
Be mindful of how easy it is to be siloed away from other humans in a work from home environment. Consider how you can intentionally cultivate regular connection with peers and customers in your industry. Think about enlisting a mentor or peer for a mutually supportive relationship, where you can problem solve, share concerns, and swap strategies.
Create rituals for starting and ending workdays. These might include exercising before your workday begins, ‘getting dressed’ for work, closing down your computer at the end of the day to ‘clock off’ and switching off digital notifications.
Remember not to forget self-care! In the first year of business, it’s easy to be consumed by work and neglect exercise, nutrition, rest time, as well as family and friends. Consider the costs of not planning for self-care. And make sure your working day includes some physical movement, a meal eaten away from your screen, adequate water breaks and regular chances to stand up.
How you set up your work from home business will be unique depending on your temperament, lifestyle, and domestic schedule so set your own unique standards. Recognise that what works for you, may not work for others and vice versa. Some people are effective when there is a clear delineation between work and rest. For others, switching back and forth between work and home is their preference. Whichever path you choose, know that setting boundaries and harnessing the power of 'enough' is a powerful tool to help you protect your needs.
When setting up a new business, it’s essential to set goals – small, medium, and long-term - in order to create a working roadmap with milestones for the future. We know that setting goals can help guide our focus, create momentum in our business and career, and allow us to feel agency and progress.
But first things first! The goals you set should matter to you, be challenging (but not so challenging that you want to give up at the first obstacle), and be inspiring. You won't achieve a goal that you’re not connected to or feels like a ‘should’ goal. Our values become our why and our motivation. If our plans are aligned with those values, goal setting can be a truly dynamic process that promotes purpose and energises us.
Some common mistakes in early business practice are to set goals that are too big (as in you don’t have the capacity or resources to see them through), not realistic (the goal is currently unattainable), or too rigid (you haven’t built in any wiggle room for error, or there are factors beyond your control).
Another rookie error is not reviewing goals regularly to see if they still apply and if their foundations are strong.
Reviewing goals on a regular basis (fortnightly or monthly) can help us to adjust when necessary, allowing us to have the flexibility to adapt to barriers that are both known and unforeseen. Seeking feedback from a trusted friend or colleague as well as internal reflection helps you determine the degree to which your goal is being met and how you are progressing.
When reviewing your goals, consider these questions:
Remember, goal setting is a skill that can be learnt. And as with learning any new skill, starting small and building capability through practice over time increases our chances of success and motivation. As we become more confident and better at setting goals, we can increase the level of challenge. The more we practice, the more likely it is we will default to goal setting as a strategy to leverage purpose and agency.
Take action towards your goals regularly, even if they feel small, to enable you to move forward. If you find yourself getting stuck, ask yourself, "What's one thing I know I can accomplish today that will help me move in the direction I want to go?"
If it feels right, share your goals with trusted people. This will help with accountability but also give you an opportunity to share your success and receive encouragement when you need it. Acknowledge your effort. If you don't take action steps towards your goal one week, think of it as an opportunity to practice positive self-talk. When you achieve your goals, no matter how small, celebrate! Tell your community so they can celebrate with you. Make a pact to help with accountability with a trusted friend, colleague, or family member but most importantly make a pact with yourself.
Learning how to realistically project what the market size is, find out how your market works and discover common oversights are a key part of setting business targets.
In learning how to realistically project your financials and common oversights, it pays to keep in mind that if crunching the numbers is not your strong point, it’s best to seek advice from a professional. While it may cost more now, it could save business owners thousands in the long run.
Researching the latest publicly available data can unlock an understanding of the dynamics and trends at an industry level. It is vital for making informed decisions, especially for new entrants into an industry. Keeping an eye on the latest and most relevant trends gives new businesses a realistic grasp on the growth prospects of their revenue model, making a point of differentiation and a competitive edge.
Factoring in time and resources, it may be more worthwhile to source these insights for maximum leverage.
*Disclaimer: The advice provided in this article is general in nature and does not take into account your specific circumstances. It is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional or financial advice. Always consult with a qualified professional before making any business decisions.
Share
Fitness
Hospitality
With its power to influence emotion, memory, and even behaviour, it’s no secret that music has a deeply profound impact on the human brain. More than just background noise, music is the secret weapon hospitality venues deploy to enhance the customer dining experience, boost mood, evoke nostalgia, complement the flavours of food and drink, and more. Whether they realise it or not, hospitality venues are utilising music’s mind-altering powers to build a deeper connection with customers - an effect which is firmly rooted in neuroscience.
Read more