There are many ways to finance your business and establish your start ups costs.
Depending on the type of business you want to begin, you may need to think about the following.
Start up costs
The Business Victoria website lists common costs that arise when starting a business, such as:
- premises costs (the place where your business will be located)
- compliance needs such as legalities and regulatory requirements
- marketing and promotional needs
- staff
- fees.
Finance types
Some of the ways you can look at starting your business use traditional means, such as personal savings, business loans and finance. However, more and more businesses now look at using a range of finance models to get established. These may include:
Crowd funding is a way of financing a project or business idea by sourcing a large range of small amounts of money from many different people. There are several platforms to crowd fund from, all typically through digital means. To start a crowd funding page you will need to be clear on your strategy and message, so the public who are pledging funds are able to see how the project benefits them.
Venture capital funding is when a wealthy individual, large company or pension fund will allocate some of their investment surplus to finance start up businesses. These are considered a risky investment for the large organisation, but an astute investor will recognise a sound idea and the return on investment (ROI).
Angel investors may work as individual investors or as part of a wider group of interested investors into one project or new venture. Angel investors may provide finance and funding, or mentoring and guidance to a start up business. This is a great way for new businesses to learn from experts and realise rapid success, due to the support and collective approach by angel investors. The Geelong angel investor network is a local group offering support to new ideas and projects.
Local, state and federal government grants
There is also a range of grants and funding available by all three tiers of government. Please visit our Business Grants and Funding page for more information.