A Simple & Imperative Guide For New Business Start-ups

A business start-up can be an exciting journey that turns new ideas into reality. However, not all businesses are successful and there is a degree of financial risk involved. Running a business is about learning from your achievements as well as from your mistakes. At Lazarus Legal, our start-up lawyers have a wealth of knowledge in commercial enterprises and are prepared to be your partner each step of the way.

key preparation for starting business

Preparation is Key

Preparing for the business is one of the key aspects of starting, running and growing a business. The old cliché “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail” is most relevant in commercial enterprises. We can assist you in business planning to ensure that you minimise risk and reach each stage of the business lifecycle successfully. 

Starting Out in Business

Make sure that you are qualified or have sufficient skills in managing a business, and eventually training others to assist you in your venture. You will need to ensure that you have the finance to start a business and sufficient working capital before taking the plunge. If you’re considering borrowing capital from lending institutions, understand that this is really only viable if the investment returns from the business will exceed the servicing costs of the loan. 

Business Structures and Registration

A strong foundational business structure will ensure that you are legally protected. Each structure (e.g. sole trader, partnership, company) will have different liability protections and tax advantages. Companies and business names will need to be registered in with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Make sure you don’t mix up business names with trade marks. Trade marks will protect your brand from your competitors in the market. Having an online presence is also important in today’s commercial market, and a domain name should be registered. 

Tax

As a start-up, you will also have tax obligations and you will need to register for the appropriate taxes with the Australian Tax Office (ATO) for a Tax File Number, GST, and if you employ others, PAYG, Payroll Tax, Fringe Benefit Tax, among others. We can work with you and your accountant to ensure that you comply with your tax obligations as a new business. 

Due Diligence

Due diligence is essentially the investigation involved in the purchase of a business. We are prepared to assist and advise you in assessing the viability of a particular business before you sign any contract. It will be important to consider why the vendor is selling the business in the first place and to attain full disclosure of the financial position of the business. 

Running a Business

Cash flow is a key aspect of any business, and you will have to maximise revenue to maintain rent and outgoings, return on the capital investment, and servicing borrowing costs. Leasing or buying premises is also a key consideration, and finding the right premises for your product and service should go hand and hand with the type of customers you provide to. Protecting yourself through insurance is also crucial contingency planning including public liability insurance, third party personal insurance, and if you are employing a team of people, workers compensation insurance. 

Know your business

As a business start-up is very important to know your customers. Know the market and keep up to date with changes in your industry. Have a marketing strategy to differentiate your product or service from other competitors. Learn and adapt, and learn again.

Get advice and set your legal foundations up right

Most importantly, it is imperative that you start your company on the right foundations. Don’t cut costs when it comes to setting things up the right way. Build something solid, and get help with your legal ‘stuff’. As the saying goes, “If in doubt, consult’ – a legal advisor”.

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Picture of Mark Lazarus

Mark Lazarus

Mark Lazarus, the visionary behind the business and the fresh blood of the Lazarus Legal team, Mark (or Laz as he is often known) owes much of his success to his past experiences. And he’s made it his personal goal to bring that wisdom and formula to the firm.

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Barry Lazarus

CEO & Notary Public

barry@lazaruslegal.com.au 

We’d be lying if we told you that this bloke isn’t the big honcho of our team, but his name is a dead give-away. The founder of Lazarus Legal, Barry is an old school, tough as nails lawyer. They don’t forge litigators like this anymore.

With decades of experience in both Australia and South Africa, his wisdom is as renowned as his name. Back in the days when Schwarzenegger and Van Damme were kicking ass on VHS, Barry was kicking ass in the courtroom. And after all these years, he still has a reputation for refusing to back down.Barry is definitely the badass you’d want in a fight – in court or otherwise. But really, he’s a big softie. Just don’t let him know you know that (although he probably won’t read this anyway – navigating the Internet is not his strong point).

Aside from putting other lawyers in their place, taking long walks on the beach and spending time with his family, Barry enjoys seeing others succeed. Not only is Barry a staunch and unmoving litigator, he has sharp business and commercial acumen having started up ventures from scratch and growing them into full-blown franchises – from real estate to creating ice cream, to making pasta. With his experience on both sides of the commercial and legal equation, you want this guy to be on your side, whether you’re the next Zuckerberg realising your genius, or the next Zuckerberg taking on your opponents in court.

When Barry is not busy lawyering about, he is a part-time lawn bowler and a wannabe comedian, but never took both as a day job, because let’s face it, he’s a lot better at his day job.

If someone ever threatens you to lawyer up…relax, call Barry and he’ll handle the rest. 

Rise above...

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Mark Lazarus Director

Mark Lazarus

Director

mark@lazaruslegal.com.au 

The visionary behind the business and the fresh blood of the Lazarus Legal team, Mark (or Laz as he is often known) owes much of his success to his past stories and experiences. And he’s made it his personal goal to bring that wisdom and formula to the firm.

He’s a bit of jet setter, splitting his time between Australia and the UK, maximising every hour of his professional life. He thrives on this adrenalin. It allowed him to work in private practice in Sydney, act for a host of famous celebrities in London, do a two year stint as a NSW barrister (and not the pretentious coffee type in the Melbourne laneways) and more recently did a gig as the Legal Director covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa for one of the world’s coolest fast-moving consumer good brands!  

As an Aussie and UK lawyer and former barrister, Mark not only has the gift of the gab but he’ll walk the walk to prove it too. He likes to think he’s a bit like Harvey Specter or Michael Corleone, the main difference is you can actually retain him as your lawyer and consigliere. He’ll tell you how it really is and will take on any challenge head on. Although litigation and court advocacy comes naturally to him, commercial and IP is what gets his blood pumping! 

When Mark is not out there doing his thing, you will probably catch him chilling at home with his family, on the sidelines of the soccer (football) pitch cheering on his two boys, crawling through mud obstacles, or training hard at the gym. Passion and commitment is what drives Mark to succeed, along with his burning desire to disrupt the legal profession by finding new ways to change the game.

He has sights on the future. So if you’re breaking new ground, ahead of the times, and on the verge of something big, but you need someone who’s got your back and who can give you straight up advice, this is the guy you will want on speed dial.

Rise above...

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