Startup

It seems Australians are moonlighting – as online shopkeepers. Internet start-ups have increased 200 per cent from 2010 and 2012, four times the pace in the United States and Britain.

For this entrepreneur, a deviation into the corporate world was the basis of a successful business, and also a successful life transformation.

Google has today announced Australia’s most web-savvy towns with its second eTown Awards.

Humphrey and McDonald are 22 and 21 years old respectively, and after starting a digital marketing business together in their (early!) teens – barely out of high school two years ago, the pair were ready for their next business venture.

Victoria’s Small Business Festival will soon kick off for the entire month of August, and includes a series of events, which cover current business trends and issues, as well as relevant solutions and tips.

Eligible job seekers who are interested in starting and running a small business may be able to access assistance through the federal government’s New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS).

As a small business owner, you have to wear so many hats. In many cases you’re the finance department, the IT department, the marketing department, the HR department, the list goes on and on.

Over the past few years ‘incubator’ style office space, which can be rented by the desk and in month-to-month lease terms, has exploded onto the market.

In a classic example of identifying and acting upon a gap in the market, this serial entrepreneur has brought his latest idea to life.

Following cash injections from Angel and Seed funding totaling some $775k, the Start-Up Stock Exchange (SSX) kicked off earlier this month – and so far six Aussie companies have listed.

A number of high profile organisations are now taking applications for grants and scholarships aimed at giving talented and innovative entrepreneurs a leg up.

The University of Queensland’s technology incubator, ilab, has been given the tick of approval by the state government with funding granted for the next two years.

It wasn’t too long ago that ‘trends’ referred exclusively to what one would see in a fashion catalogue, and ‘hash tag’ was the disused key on a handset phone – is it a case of get-with-the-times, or die?

Keeping on top of invoices isn’t every business owner’s strong suit – like doing laundry and the cleaning, the paperwork can easily pile up.

As the new financial year gets underway, now is the perfect time to look at how you can run your business more effectively.

Take on some of the biggest companies in the world – tick. Help the AIDS epidemic – tick. Launch a product, now stocked nationally, all within a year? Tick. Just another day at the office for this 26 year old.

There’s the stereotype of the kid in jeans and a hoodie selling his start-up to Google for a couple of billion dollars – but that’s the exception. Most entrepreneurs are actually over 50.

An online ugg boot retailer has been left red-faced after an ACCC investigation revealed its ‘Made in Australia’ claims were totally false. Worse still, it also used the official Australian Made logo without authorisation.

In true entrepreneur form, an everyday annoyance blossomed into one of the best loved digital radio applications around.

In case you missed it, here is some great news for anyone feeling discouraged about Australia’s small business sector: the head count is in and it is on the rise. In further (unsurprising) news, the sector continues to carry the local economy.