Ideal for entrepreneurs and those who are thinking about starting a new business, our Develop New Business Ventures course will give you insights into planning and developing a new business venture for an existing organisation or for a business generating self-employment.

In this course, you will explore how to investigate new business opportunities by analysing new trends and market information, and gather essential data and source information that supports business concepts and ideas.

You will also discover how to develop and present professional business proposals, communicate risks to stakeholders, and understand standards, legislation, policies, procedures, codes of practice and resource and financial requirements.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking a course in starting a new business course include:

• Learning how to investigate business opportunities and analyse market information for potential opportunities
• Exploring business ideas and concepts and how to gather data and source information
• Gaining an understanding of how ideas might be influenced or limited
• Studying features and benefits, product mix and organisational capability
• Examining record maintenance and financial, business, technical and digital technology skills
• Understanding how to identify market segments and market trends and developments
• Attaining knowledge of ethical and cultural requirements and factors impacting business opportunities
• Gaining insights into needs, factors and potential impacts
• Learning about promotional activities and campaigns
• Exploring personal motivations and aspirations and how to identify personal strengths and weaknesses
• Gaining an understanding of the criteria that determines the viability of a business opportunity
• Learning how to undertake a SWOT analysis
• Exploring how to develop and present business proposals
• Gaining an understanding of business opportunities and the factors influencing business financial viability
• Studying how to record evaluations, the risks associated with business and the key risk categories
• Examining risk management systems, planning and assessment and how to communicate risk to stakeholders
• Understanding the four strategies for risk management
• Attaining knowledge of proposal audiences, presentation methods and how to deliver a business description/ proposal
• Gaining insights into cash flow and reports
• Learning about feedback and standards, legislation, codes of practice and policy and procedures
• Exploring how to organise finances for new business ventures
• Gaining an understanding of available funds and commitments, equity finance, business mix and start up and running costs
• Studying how to estimate income and calculate income based on price per unit and on an hourly charge-out rate
• Examining how to estimate costs and the first year’s expenses and income
• Understanding how cash flow works, how to prepare a cash flow budget and project cash flow
• Attaining knowledge of finance sources, how to seek financial advice, debt financing, leasing and hiring and grants and subsidies
• Gaining insights into gifts and bootstrapping, how to access finance, refinancing and how to apply for a business loan
• Learning about accounting software, sales and marketing, how to have a finance focus and workplace procedures
• Exploring how to determine the resource requirements for new business ventures
• Gaining an understanding of business venture profiles, the required personnel, employees and business advisors/consultants
• Gaining an understanding of how to undertake a cost benefit analysis, the type and quantity of resources required and the methods of acquiring resources
• Studying the risk, cost and ease of access to services and support
• Examining how to professionally engage with suppliers and key people, negotiate arranges and the systems and procedures for resources
• Understanding resource storage and use of resources and the installation of equipment, machinery and software
• Attaining knowledge of repairs, maintenance and replacement
• Gaining insights into human resources

And more…

Developing a New Product

Part of developing a new business venture or starting a new business often involves developing new products … and that means you need to develop a plan! It will help you identify the timeline and process to design, create and build your product. A well thought-out product development plan will help you avoid wasting money, time and business resources. It will also:

• help you organise your product planning and research
• understand your customers’ expectations and views
• accurately plan and resource your project

Your plan will also help you avoid:

• misreading and overestimating your target market
• launching a poorly designed product or a product that doesn’t meet the needs of your target customers
• incorrectly pricing your product/s
• spending resources you don’t have on higher than anticipated development costs
• exposing your business to risks and threats from unexpected competition

There are six key steps to start developing your plan:

1. Research your idea — this involves a thorough business analysis that involves defining or describing your idea and identifying your target market.
2. Build or make and test your prototype — this involves thorough testing, misusing it to find any faults and listening to your target market so you can improve your product as you go.
3. Write a marketing strategy plan — once your product is in place, you should then figure out a strategy to market it to customers. This will direct your product launch and make the most of opportunities to promote your product or business.
4. Launch your product — deciding how, when and where to launch your product will determine its impact on the market. Launches help you showcase your new product to potential customers and builds momentum and anticipation.
5. Keep reviewing your product — once you’ve launched your product, it’s important to keep innovating so that you are ahead of other businesses and products. It will also help you anticipate changes to your market, customers and competition.
6. Protect your idea — once you’ve development and refined your product, you should get the correct intellectual property(IP) to protect your idea. Automatic protection is given to confidential information, trade secrets, copyrights and circuit layout rights.

Research and Innovation

Innovation means coming up with new ways to do things enabling you to change processes or create more effective ideas and products. It can also help you save money and time and is key to your business developing a competitive advantage and creating a culture of problem solving and innovative thinking. It’s worth noting that your business can be innovative without actually inventing something new. Innovation can be experimenting with marketing, changing your business model, or adapting to changes in the environment to deliver better services or products.

If you are starting a new business, here are some resources to help you be more innovative:

• Source IPis an online tool by IP Australia that connects businesses with Australian public sector research groups.
• Connecting Australian-European Science and Innovation Excellence – external site (CAESIE) supports science and technology between small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and researchers in Australia and Europe.
• The CSIRO has several mechanisms for support for innovation , includingData61 and Small and Medium Enterprise Connect.

Marketing Your Product

Marketing your product well will help you reach your customers, get online and stand out from your competitors. It involves:

Business Marketing

Business marketing can help your business reach its target audience, attract new customers and ultimately increase your profit. Good marketing tells a story about your business and gives your customers a reason to purchase from you rather than your competitors. And writing a marketing plan can help you define certain aspects of your business and focus on your priorities.

Identify Your Target Market

Identifying and understanding your customers is an essential part of your marketing plan and your business. Not everyone is a potential customer, so it’s important to have a clear understanding of your target market early on. It will also help you analyse your market and define your customer segments.

Research Your Market

Market research is a valuable tool for all businesses. It can help you to understand potential customers, competitors, products or services, suppliers, business location and your local area and industry and market trends. The Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia’s official statistical agency and provides a wide range of social and economic statistics.

Develop Your Marketing Plan

Writing a marketing plan can help you define your marketing strategy and identify the best channels and activities to market your services or products. It can also help you to:

• identify your target market and how your product or service can benefit it
• identify how you might attract new customers
• encourage your existing customers to continue purchasing your product or service
• set goals and time frames for your marketing activities
• map out a strategy to reach your target audience, including the messages, channels and tools you’ll use
• evaluate your marketing activities
• provide a marketing budget and see your return on investment.

Market Your Business

Thinking about all your business activities can help you to position your business, and your products or services in the market. The five Ps of marketing (product, price, promotion, place and people) can help build your business brand and target your customers’ needs.

Advertise Your Business

Advertising is a marketing activity that can help you to reach out to potential customers and encourage them to buy your products or services. An effective advertising campaign can help you to:

• increase customer reach
• build customer awareness of your business and brand
• promote the benefits of your products or services
• communicate information about your business
• increase sales and demand
• gain an advantage over your competitors.

Tools and Software to Market Your Business

Marketing tools and platforms can help you conduct your retailing and online promotion. By streamlining how you deliver targeted messages to your customer, they can help you achieve your business goals, and the type of tool and platform will depend on what you want to achieve. They can also help you:

• retain customers
• keep customers and clients up to date
• track your customers’ purchasing behaviours
• personalise messages to your customers.

 

Gain the skills and knowledge required to plan, present and implement new business ventures confidently with a course on starting a new business such as our Develop New Business Ventures course.