What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?

This is a book about starting a business. It provides a map, compass and checklist for starting a business from the ground up. I explain the process, and recommend the order in which you do things. I make suggestions about important steps, and factors you can give a miss. This is a book about how to make a ‘start-up’. I talk about starting a business in Australia, which has its own legal system and practices which differ to other countries. Starting a business in Australia is not the same as starting a business in the UK or the US. Similar principles apply,for sure.

I am using the term ‘start-up’ in this book to cover all types of new businesses. There has been a great deal of coverage of start-ups in the media, with the Hollywood version differing significantly from how new businesses look in the real world. My definition of start-up does not necessarily include investors, venture capitalists and ‘kick-starter’ campaigns. I touch on those things in this book but they are not always necessary when starting your new business. As a commercial lawyer I have seen people start, build, grow and eventually sell a business without having to go down all those supposedly necessary paths involving investors, shares, venture capital, incubators and other complications.

There is something unique about launching a new business in Australia. Australians know how to get things done with limited resources. We know how to fix things with fencing wire and bits of old tin. We can also set up a new business with a minimum of fuss, fan fare and noise. This is a handbook on how to do that.