Smart Start - Assessing Business Skills

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YOUR NEW IDEA	http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/smart_start/skills.htm

ASSESSING BUSINESS SKILLS

Starting up a business can be a challenge. You need to examine whether or not you have the business knowledge to start a business with your new idea.

Help is out there. Contact these organisations to find out more about what it takes to start a new business:

Business Enterprise Centres (BECs) main role is to provide help to small businesses, principally through a free advisory and counselling service, both to people wishing to start up their own business and those already in business. Other services offered include skills training courses, seminars and workshops and managed workspaces that provide on-site management and a range of services on a short-term lease basis. The contact details for BECs in your state are listed in the Useful Contacts Directory.

The Federal Government’s New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS) provides unemployed people with a six-week course in business planning. This could translate into a grant of a year’s income and rental support up to $10,000, unaffected by any profits made while the business is being set up during this period. For more information contact Centrelink - www.jobsearch.gov.au or phone 132 850.

TAFE courses include a Certificate in Small Business Enterprise in which you learn to determine the feasibility of a small business idea and to develop an operational business plan. You’ll learn to manage the day-to-day operations of a small business. The course offers a range of electives to enable you to investigate special areas of interest in your enterprise. Courses are also offered by correspondence. Contact details for TAFE institutions are provided in the Useful Contacts Directory.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics is a good place to find economic figures on particular markets or industries. Visit www.abs.gov.au for more information.

Protect your idea—and profit!

Here are some pointers to help you protect your new idea:

Precisely identify your new idea or IP and record its key details. If it can be protected by registered rights, look at www.ipaustralia.gov.au or call 1300 651 010 for information about the types of protection available. See also the patent, trade marks and designs sections in Chapter 1 for more information.
Either you, or your adviser, should search relevant industry literature and the patents, trade marks and designs databases with respect to your IP to ensure that your idea is new and not being used by someone else.
It’s wise to contact a patent or trade mark attorney, or IP lawyer. These people specialise in intellectual property, and can help you determine the best IP strategy for your business.
Establish proof of ownership of your new idea. This could include:

- Establishing the date the idea or innovation was created

- Assembling all relevant documentation, including contracts, log books
and other records that can identify ownership of the IP

- Determining if you developed your new idea yourself or if others were involved

- Applying for protection. Particularly for patent applications it is advisable to use the services of a patent attorney. Application forms for patents, trade marks and designs are available from IP Australia.

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