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How to Start a Business in Newcastle

Free start-up resources and useful local contacts.

Improve your chances of success!

How to Start a Business in Newcastle

Starting a business in Newcastle

If you are thinking about starting a business in Newcastle or would like to grow your existing business, we would love to help you.

Start Your Own Business in Newcastle contains resources and the information that will help give your venture the best chance of success. It also highlights organisations who offer friendly advice and the services that you are likely to need as a new startup or local business owner.

Grants | Networking groups | Business advice | Mentoring | Co-working spaces

Starting a business in Newcastle

Free Startup Resources

Getting it right from the start can help to prevent problems later.

To help you with this we have created a vast selection of resources and they are all completely free!

Starting a Business in in Newcastle

Business advice and support

"Two heads are better than one."

Whether you have been trading for some time, are new to the market or are just thinking about starting a business of your own, it has been proven that your chances of success are considerably improved if you seek support from an experienced business advisor or mentor. You can find out more about both options at Business Advice in Newcastle and Business Mentors in Newcastle.

Funding and grants

Running out of money is one the most common reasons why businesses fail. This risk of this happening to can be avoided (or minimised) by careful planning and cashflow forecasting. If you need additional funds to start or keep your business going, you can learn more about your options and download our free funding factsheet at: Newcastle Business Grants and Business Funding

Business networking

Does the idea of business networking fill you with delight or dread? Either way, it can be beneficial for both your business and you as an entrepreneur. See Business Networking in Newcastle for details of local groups and our free Networking Factsheet.

Business premises

Working from home is appealing to many new business owners but not practical for many others. Even if you are running a business by yourself, you might like to consider the option of 'hot desking' or co-working in one of the many flexi-workspaces that have emerged in recent years. Find out more at: Newcastle Co-Working and Business Premises.

Finding new customers

Paying customers are the lifeblood of any business. Knowing how to find, satisfy and retain them is vitally important and best achieved with the help of experts in the field.

Accountancy, tax and law

While starting a new business is very exciting, this should not disguide the fact that there are some very important legal responsibilities that must be considered. See: Bookkeeping, Accountancy, Financial Planning and Law

FREE startup workshops

If you are thinking about starting a business, our FREE three-hour ONLINE workshop is definitely for you!

Open to everyone, our sole aim is to increase your chances of success. We do that by explaining:

The reality of running a business; the most common pitfalls and how to avoid them; which legal status is likely to be most suitable; funding, grants and managing your money; business planning and cashflow forecasting; finding and keeping customers.

Free startup guide

Start Your Own Business in 2024

Download the 2024 edition of our Free Start Your Own Business guide

An interactive step-by-step guide which also includes all of the most important subjects covered in an easy-to-read way with links to useful online articles and relevant contacts.

The idea of starting your own business can be incredibly exciting and who can blame you for being tempted?

However, the sad truth is that far too many new enterprises fail in the early stages. Our aim is to make sure that you don’t become one of them.

This guide explains the key start-up subjects in simple English.

There is also plenty of help available in the area and much of it is free - please do make the most of it.

Read more about what our Free guide contains and how you can download it.
Starting a business in Newcastle

Key Contacts in Newcastle

'You don't know what you don't know' is a phrase that is so applicable to starting a new business.

Newcastle is a great place for start-ups but your chances of success are dramatically improved if you make the most of the support that is available locally. Click on logos to visit their websites.

Advice

Guide to starting and running a home business
Small Business Commissioner have developed an online resource to make it easier for you to start or grow a home business in NSW. It provides information on requirements, where to go for support, and a helpful guide for getting started. Home businesses are a vital part of NSWs economy, and they want to make it easier for you to thrive. The information has been developed as part of the NSW Government's Easy to do Business initiative. It will also assist you with transitioning when your business outgrows your home.
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Advice

Start or grow a business in NSW
NSW Government have created a guide to help anyone who is thinking about starting a business. "Before you start a business in NSW, it's important to take the time to understand the steps involved in opening a new business. Use this guide as a checklist of tasks you may need to complete." It covers: specific industry guides, planning a business, choosing a business structure, starting a business, developing your premises, before you start trading, selling goods, setting up workers, other things to consider
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Advice

Australia Government - Starting a Business
The Government's website contains a section dedicated to starting a business. It is a very useful resource and includes information about: making key decisions, planning your business, help for your business, registering your business, preparing your finances, knowing the law, preparing for tax, setting up operations and marketing your business. A good place to start!
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Grants

NSW Small Business Grants
There are several assistance programs offered by the Federal and State government to assist small business owners. These assistance programs can be available in the form of government grants, subsidies, rebates, incentives and financial aid. One of the programs that help businesses with upgrading or improving their digital infrastructure is the Digital Initiative program. This program is aimed at supporting small businesses with a digital transformation program to the value of $20,000. Successful business applicants will be paired with an expert innovator who has efficiently used technology to their advantage to accelerate growth of their business.
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Advice

BEC Business Advice South & West NSW
BEC Business Advice is a not-for-profit organisation that has been part of the Business Enterprise Centre (BEC) network since the 1980s.Over the past 25 or so years, our sole purpose has been to deliver business advice, education, training, consultation, and assistance to business owners and their representatives across our region.The strength in what we have to offer is the ability to draw upon a network of experienced, local business people to deliver individually tailored advice to each business we work with.
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Start-up articles

100's of free startup articles

We have created a collection of 100s of startup articles to help anyone with whatever stage they are on with their business journey. Hundreds of thousands of people have gone before you and we can learn from what they got right and avoid the things that have been proved not to work so well.

You can see the full list of 'articles' at: How to start a business