r/ausbusiness

I (M43) recently resigned from a major consulting company after spending 13 years there, growing from junior to senior associate level. The team I was in became super toxic to the level that it pushed people beyond what they could offer and started micromanaging to levels of digging into personal life and using it to target people at meetings and in resource allocations. That’s the short story of why I left without having a job lined up.

Given I have been in NZ and lately in Melbourne, I have created client connections, so I am thinking of starting a company solo first to provide services to them. How is that going to work in this market?

I am a geotechnical professional and have worked in a couple of big consulting companies (the biggest ones in my profession — North American ones).

Given I left my job and am going to eat into my savings, how can this startup be structured? We are a couple with a 5-year-old kid, and my wife earns reasonably well to cover expenses for now.

On the expenses side for startups, what are we to expect? Accounting fees, insurance, etc.? Has anyone tried this here ( or knew someone who did this) in the Melbourne market? Any advice?

If a brand already has an Intelectual Property ownership of certain words like for example Strawberry Cooler and I tried to put up a business with a name Strawberry Coolers, is that allowed?

Are there any specific ways, legal ways that could lower your taxes significantly?? HELPP

I'm about to start my own business, and there’s honestly so much to figure out! 😅

It’s my first time building a business, so I’d love to learn from people who’ve already been through it. Are there any good communities or groups for first-time founders/business owners that you’d recommend joining?

Would really appreciate any recommendations! 🙌

When I first started, every month felt a bit different. Some months were great, others were a scramble, and it took a while to get a proper feel for what the next month would look like. Eventually things started settling down, regular clients, more predictable expenses, and a better idea of what the business could actually bring in. It’s easy to focus on growth, but getting to a point where things feel steady is probably underrated.

We’re a Brisbane software company developing a tool to reduce the paperwork involved in unloading containers.

It uses warehouse cameras to record:

• When unloading starts and finishes
• The container number
• How many pallets are removed
• Delays during unloading
• Photos of any damaged goods

After unloading, it automatically creates a job report with the important times and photos.

How do you record this information now? Would an automatic report save your team time? What else should it include?

We have an early working demo and would appreciate honest feedback from warehouse managers.

https://go.screenpal.com/watch/cOjFi8nvHta

https://preview.redd.it/l22tq06b90kh1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=4fbaa5fb21a3ffd136377a34df26661f8fbcbd0a

Demo: https://cv.ishtech.com.au/deep-inspect/

Two years ago, I started my own ice cream business, and it has kept me pretty busy while growing quite a lot. I currently run it alongside a part-time job, but my long-term goal is to make the business my full-time income so I can eventually leave my job.

I’ve been thinking about expanding into a dessert trailer and combining it with my existing ice cream business. Winter is obviously a much slower period for ice cream, so I thought adding desserts and other products could help make the business more viable year-round.

A couple of months ago, I bought a food trailer for around $30,000. My original plan was to convert it into more of a dessert trailer, but I decided against it because it felt like a waste to remove all of the existing commercial hot-food equipment. I also think trying to run a trailer that does both a full hot-food menu and desserts would be too complicated.

Now I’ve got a slightly more complicated opportunity in front of me.

A shop has recently come up for lease in town. We don't have many shops become available, and I actually missed out on another one previously, although that one was roughly double the rent. This new shop is $600 per week, compared with around $500 per week for the site where I was considering operating the dessert trailer.

The shop is obviously going to have significantly more costs associated with it, but it would also give me a permanent location, which was always the long-term goal anyway. Instead of operating purely as a dessert shop, I was thinking of running it as a café in the morning and then transitioning into more of a dessert shop/bar in the afternoon and evening.

I think this could make more sense than relying on desserts alone. I already own most of the commercial equipment I would need and have some experience in the food industry, so I wouldn't be starting completely from scratch.

The biggest issue is the risk.

I would need to take out roughly a $40,000 loan to get the shop up and running, and I’d be entering a market that I haven't really tested yet. The difficult part is that I don't have an easy way to properly test the concept beforehand.

There are already several cafés in town, so there is definitely competition on the café side. However, there is only one café particularly close to this location, and there are currently no dedicated dessert businesses in the town. Most of the cafés also close around 3pm, which potentially leaves a gap for a business that operates more heavily in the afternoon and evening.

The dessert side is what interests me most, but I don't want to convince myself that the lack of competition automatically means there is demand. There may be a reason nobody has done it before.

So I'm trying to work out whether this is a genuinely good opportunity or whether I'm getting carried away because the shop has become available.

Another thing to note that in the trailer i am not allowed to sell soft serve or scooped ice cream with my current ice cream as i had to find a new supplier who only allows me to sell other ice cream options in a shop.

The two options I'm currently looking at are roughly:

Option 1 – Dessert Trailer

• Around $500/week for the site
• Lower overheads
• I already own the trailer
• Less financial risk
• More flexibility
• But limited trading hours/space and still quite seasonal
• Cannot sell soft serve or scooped ice cream
• Would have to buy another trailer (10-20 thousand) but can sell the first trailer down the track (when i find a buyer)

Option 2 – Café + Dessert Shop

• $600/week rent
• Much higher overall operating costs
• Around $40,000 in additional borrowing
• Permanent location
• Ability to operate mornings through to evenings
• Could combine coffee, breakfast/lunch items and desserts
• Potentially much easier to grow into a full-time business
• Can also sell soft serve and scooped ice cream

I'm genuinely torn and feel stuck because the shop feels like it could be the opportunity I've been working towards, but it also feels like a big jump from running a relatively small mobile business into taking on a lease, staff, utilities, stock, insurance, loan repayments and all the other costs that come with a permanent venue.
Most if not all the staff could be family till i get on my feet and they dont mind being payed a little less at the start. I would still be doing ice cream events in my current ice cream trailer which the first 8 months of owning it i earned 30k profit. i could expect anywhere to $30-50k profit as im getting more and more events which covers the pressure of the rent aswell.

I'd really appreciate some honest opinions, especially from people who have experience opening cafés, dessert shops or other small hospitality businesses.

I'm more than happy to answer any questions about the business, the location, finances, equipment or what I'm planning to sell if it helps people give a more informed opinion.

I’ve got a small ABN contract (about 16 hours a week) and only make a few thousand a month including GST. I run a website for the firm, and I want to add some new features — but I honestly don’t have the time or energy because of other work.

I’m considering outsourcing the development to a freelancer overseas because of the affordability. Basically just paying someone to handle the updates and improvements while I focus on my main job.

Has anyone here done this?
Is it overly complicated to outsource work like this from Australia?
Do I need to set up anything special legally (like a branch or entity in the freelancer’s country), or can I just hire them as a contractor and pay them normally?

Would love to hear how others handle this.

I’m a service business that has just expanded into luxe stationary, and looking for inspo on how I can get myself organised so the whole thing doesn’t take over my little home office.

Thank you 🙏

Talked to a business owner last week whose ops manager quit with two weeks notice after four years, no warning, straight to a competitor. She ended up covering the role herself for a month because between the ad, interviews, and training, nothing moves fast when you actually need it to.

What got me is how many owners have this exact story. One person leaves and suddenly the whole business is running on the owner's own steam until it's fixed.

Anyone actually got a system for this, or is it always scramble mode when it happens?

It's my first time doing taxes for my small business this year, usually I do my individual tax return myself. Just wondering if anyone recommends doing business tax (as a sole trader) through any softwares or just going to an accountant for it. If the latter, is there any you'd recommend personally towards a more budget friendly range? Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I'm a visual storyteller and content producer who recently moved to Australia, and I've been working with lifestyle, food & beverage, and business brands. I'm starting a project to showcase the stories behind the people building interesting things.

I'm looking to interview:

• Business owners
• Founders
• Creatives
• Skilled professionals
• People with unique career journeys

The idea is simple:
A relaxed conversation about your journey, your work, and what makes your business/personality unique — turned into a cinematic video!

There is no cost involved. I'm mainly looking to meet interesting people, create meaningful content, and highlight local stories.

If you or someone you know has a story worth sharing, feel free to comment or send me a message.

Would love to connect!

For small business owners, would you rather hire a direct remote contractor or work with an outsourced company?

Just curious to hear your thoughts.
I’m a remote accountant and a CPA based in the Philippines. Most of my clients have hired me directly, but as I plan to expand, I’ve noticed that some businesses seem to prefer working with an outsourced company instead.

What made you choose one over the other? Was it cost, reliability, compliance, easier management, or something else?

Im 27 years old, from Sydney, love watching/playing almost all types of sport and going to the gym. I've always considered myself an innovator/ideas person and obsessed with the idea of creating something that delivers value. I've found it tough as a solo founder sticking to one offer, one niche and finding the motivation to keep going when i'm not seeing results. I'm looking to constantly push myself outside my comfort zone and connect with people, which is why I'm creating this group.

The Concept:

For those who aren't familiar, with Steven Bartlett (Diary of a CEO) and his gym accountability group on whatsapp, every time a group member works out, they post a pic in the group chat and at the end of the month the top 3 gym goes get a gold, silver and bronze medal with the last place evicted and replaced by a new member to the group. The point is its meant to help drive motivation by having both a reward (bragging rights) & a negative consequence (removed from group).

I'd like to recreate this in a business sense to create a motivating, but fun & competitive environment to meet new people, have some banter, collaborate/work together and most importantly win together!

I'd like to start with around 5 people from here for the first month and see how that goes, then each person can invite another new person, expanding the group/network. The point is to keep the group relatively small but diverse, we don't want small groups within the group. We want to build lasting relationships where we can contribute value to each other. For those interested I'm open to ideas as well, the group decides how it will work and what the rules are.

p.s: Im not trying exclude anyone, I just feel for this group its important to be in similar life stages with similar experiences. By not meeting the criteria, it just means we may not be as like-minded as each other and i'd encourage you to find your like-minded people too! I know in my life, there aren't many people (friends or family) who are doing or have done what i'm trying to do, so i want this group chat to be for the people who think differently, have great ideas and want to push themselves outside their comfort zones.

In saying that, i am always open to meet new people and even if we don't connect in this way, we might connect in another.

Message me or comment below if you are interested,

Who this is for:

• Under 35yo founders & builders in Australia.
• People wanting to start or grow their business.
• People looking to collaborate or share services.
• People who want to go all in.
• People who want to build and be part of a fun & ambitious network.
• People who are authentically honest (share your true wins, loses, struggles).
• People who want to bring the best out of and help other people.

Hey everyone,

I work with service-based businesses to find the profit that’s already sitting inside the business, usually through better pricing, margins, offer structure, follow-up, sales process, and operations. Generally my consultancy service doubles a businesses weekly profit within 90 days, or I give them their money back. Crazy, yep, but it’s real.

I’m doing a free advice/AMA thread for any service business owners who want a second set of eyes on their business.

Quick background so you know where the advice is coming from:
I studied entrepreneurship and small business, then worked as Head of Business Development for a B2B company serving clients from small businesses through to government departments.

After that, I moved overseas and started a home services business from scratch. I grew it, ran it for 3+ years, built it into an industry leader in service and profitability, reached very high margins, and eventually sold it to a larger competitor.

Since then, I’ve helped service-business owners improve pricing, increase close rates, tighten their offers, fix weak follow-up, and make more profit from the business they already have.

A lot of owners think they need “more leads”, but in my experience, more leads only help once the economics, offer, pricing, and follow-up are already working properly. Otherwise, it usually just creates more noise and more work.

So, if you want advice, comment with:

\- What your business does
\- Approx revenue range
\- Approx profit/margin, if you know it
\- How you currently get customers
\- Your biggest current bottleneck
\- Whether you want to grow, or simply make more profit from the same amount of work

I’ll reply with the first few things I’d look at if it were my business.

Also, none of my advice here will be AI-generated. I’m not going to copy/paste generic ChatGPT answers. I’ll read what you write and give you my actual take based on your situation and my experience.

No pitch, no sale. Happy to keep it public so other people can learn from it too.

Fire away.

Hi everyone,

I hope this is okay to share here. I’ve recently created a new marketplace called SellandRetire.com.au, and I’m still very much at the beginning of trying to get it off the ground.

The idea came from seeing how many long-standing business owners reach retirement and face difficulties when it comes to selling their business. There doesn’t seem to be a dedicated marketplace specifically for retiring business owners, or for buyers who are interested in taking over established, long-running businesses.

So I built Sell & Retire — a marketplace specifically for business owners who are ready to retire and want to find the right person to continue what they’ve built, while connecting them with motivated buyers looking for exactly that.

We currently have 37+ listings, Australia wide - Browse Businesses | Sell & Retire

It’s completely free for owners to list their business and free for buyers looking to purchase one — no listing fees, no commission and no obligation.

My aim at this stage is simply to get good businesses in front of more potential buyers and hopefully help make a few successful introductions.

We’re only just getting started, so I’d genuinely appreciate any support from this community — whether that’s taking a look, sharing it with a business owner who might find it useful, passing it on to someone looking to buy a business, liking the FB page, or simply giving me some feedback on what I could do better.

I’m building this from the ground up, so every bit of feedback and support really does help.

Thanks for reading, and I’m happy to answer any questions