Free new tools from the government's website for small businesses are making it easier to start a business.
Two of the most important choices when starting a new business are deciding on your business structure and choosing a name. New online tools from business.govt.nz make those decisions much simpler.
"They're designed to make it quicker and easier for new businesses to make the right decisions early on that'll help them succeed in the future," says head of business.govt.nz, Matt Kennedy-Good. "They gather information from across government and the private sector and personalise it to the business's needs, which saves a lot of time."
The brand new Choose Business Structure tool helps figure out the best structure for your business. Three quick questions give a good sense of which structure is most suited to your needs.
"The structure a business chooses can impact its legal and financial obligations and its ability to grow," says Kennedy-Good. "It takes time and money to change this structure, so it pays to get it right from the start."
If you're already in business, the tool is also a good way to check you've chosen the best structure – plus as your business evolves, its structure might need to evolve as well.
Another key decision is choosing a name – this is really important if you plan to build a brand around that name.
To help with this decision, business.govt.nz also offers the free ONECheck tool, which allows you to check the availability of business names, trade marks, web domains and social media usernames in one quick search, then guides you to your next steps.
ONECheck has proven popular with business since its re-launch in May – every day, small businesses are making almost 2,000 searches on it.
"It's a great tool," says Kennedy-Good. "Being able to search all the elements that help a business establish a strong brand in one place is hugely beneficial. It saves a lot of time and is fun and easy to use."
ONECheck can help you understand whether you're likely to be able to protect your business name with a trade mark – and helps avoid investing in a brand that may be hard to protect.
"It's also a good idea to set up a domain name and social media account when getting your business up and running. Whether you're looking for a .nz web address or a Twitter account, you can easily see what's still available with ONECheck," Kennedy-Good says.
So whether you're just starting out or have been in business for years, do your business a favour and ONECheck it.
These tools are just part of a range of free tools, information and resources business.govt.nz offers New Zealand small businesses, designed to help them get from started to sorted. The goal of both tools is to save you time, help you make the best decisions for your business, and to understand when you should speak with an expert advisor.
For more information: visit business.govt.nz.