New Business up and sprinting!

I am so excited! A few months ago I decided that it was time to go back to work. I am, or was a registered nurse so assumed that's what I would return to. Here in Australia the Registration board have decided that for you to renew your registration you must have worked 3months out of the last 5 years. Health professionals are now on a national register which is country wide.
Ooookay, what if you haven't? Then you must do a refresher course. Ok No worries how much and where and for how long? There is only one place you can do the course, in Sydney - a 6 hour drive from where I live - it's for two weeks, 150hours unpaid shift work and by the way it's $AUS10000 and you have to pay upfront! Hmmm, let me just check down the back of the lounge and in the console of the car for that money and I'll get back to you.

So I thought, this is a golden opportunity to take what I love to do and try and make something of it.
One door closes and another opens.

I signed up to do a Micro management course (micro business being less then 20 people employed) and it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. It made me really look hard at what I wanted to achieve, who my target market was, how I was going to reach that target market, licensing, insurance, tax, superannuation, suppliers cash flow and marketing. I took all those things that I 'knew to be true' and put it down on paper in a logical and articulate way.
I feel more confident in my ability to run a business now and I came away with a financial plan, a business plan and a new sense of optimism.

As of the 10th of November I will begin trading as Cedar Blossom Cakes! Woo hoo!

In NSW, Australia, if you run a home business like mine, there are regulations that you must adhere to, although each local council may have their own interpretations, so please consult with your local council.
- I am classed as a home enterprise which means that I don't have to be passed as a commercial kitchen. Phew! The council won't inspect and aren't interested until the business becomes too big and contravenes the local zoning laws.
-The NSW Food Authority need to be notified of your intent to serve food, but they don't inspect or administer like they do for commercial premises.
-You must register your business name and obtain an ABN (Australian Business Number) number in order to trade
- You must have public liability insurance, and if you are a member of the Cake Decorators Association, you can obtain that insurance through them as long as you aren't a retail shop and don't have employees
- To cover myself I have also under gone a Safe Food Handling course. If it gets to the stage where I am employing people, then at least one person on site must have a Safe Food Handling supervisors certificate.

Having a business plan means I know where I am, where I want to be and best of all, I can walk into a bank and show them in black and white, what sort of money I expect the business to make and then ask for a loan! LOL

I can't recommend doing a small business course enough! Businesses fail, not because of a bad product but because of bad management and no plan.

Now I can sit back (HA!) and reap the rewards of all that hard work, and get on with the fun stuff.