Starting a Business Timeline: How Long It Takes to Start a Business From Scratch

Good things come to those who wait...but that doesn’t mean you should wait forever. If you’re looking to plan your next 3, 6, or 12 months, here’s what a new business timeline will look like.

How long does it take to start a business in Australia?

For aspiring business owners, finding the answer to that question is crucial. If you’ve already found a great idea for a product or service, or completed market research to uncover a gap for your new business idea, then getting the ball rolling is the next step.

But there are steps you’ll need to take to get your business up and running - and failure to complete the steps in the right order can delay your new business for months (or indefinitely).

As a rule of thumb, it always takes TWICE as long as you think when starting a new business and TWICE as much money. If you double the time and money you’re planning to invest, you’ll get a rough ballpark of cost and timeline.

Of course, the length of time it takes to start a new business will come down to the type of business you’re looking to operate, the location you’ve picked (if you’re opening a brick-and-mortar store), and any logistical hurdles to be jumped along the way.

Whether you’ve got business plans, or you hate your job and need a fresh start, we’ll show you what’s needed when starting a business, and offer a quicker route to owning a business that can help you skip much of the teething problems that traditional start-ups face.

How long does it take to start a business online?

This depends on your business model. For example, if you’re looking to run a business out of your home office and sell products in an eCommerce store, you can be up and running in one or two months.

The downside to this quick set-up timeline is that your new business will lack many of the advantages of a more deeply planned business. Can your new website compete with existing sites that have greater trust and brand recognition? Is your one-man-band approach enough to compete with eCommerce stores that have multiple employees? Is sending products yourself able to compete with a fully-fledged shipping facility?

The takeaway here is that a quick business isn’t necessarily a successful business. You’ll typically face more challenges when you stand your business up in 4 to 8 weeks.

How long does it take to start a brick-and-mortar business?

If you were planning to open a brick-and-mortar business today, you’d need to budget for 3 months of planning at a minimum. Even if you’ve got a product or service picked out and there’s no need for any market research or competitor analysis, the list of administration and set-up tasks is long.

This includes:

• Finding a business location (can take anywhere from 3 to 6 months or more)
• Purchasing and receiving products/equipment/supplies (can take 3+ months)
• Determine financing needs (if applicable, can take 6+ months)

On top of these requirements, you’ll also need to factor in staff training, promotional strategies, and setting up the digital side of your brand (website, social media, etc). These can add weeks (if not months) to your timeline and workload too.

Are there any options to speed up the business ownership timeline?

Yes.

And you’ve likely driven past these turn-key businesses hundreds of times without knowing it. Starting a business in Australia doesn’t have to mean literally *starting* a business. 

There are many retail businesses for sale in the franchise industry, offering all the benefits of a fully-fledged business entity, without many of the time-sucking tasks that slow down a new business.

For example, there’s no need to source a business location as your new franchise already exists in the market (that’s 3 to 6 months saved). There’s no need to source product and equipment suppliers as you’ll have access to ready-made buying power and relationships (that’s another 3+ months of work saved). And while financing will remain, you’ll have a supportive franchisor to help guide you towards a swift resolution, helping slash the time it takes on your end.

As an example, a Clark Rubber franchise takes an average of 12 weeks from concept to reality. 

It’s easy to see the significant improvement in time between “I’d like to run my own business” and “I’m a fully-fledged business owner” when buying a business franchise in Australia compared to building a new company from the ground up - whether online or one relying on foot traffic.

Curious about starting a franchise? Make sure you get answers to these crucial 16 questions first.

Tips for speeding up your new business timeline

Starting a new business can take anywhere from 6 to 12 months for a brick-and-mortar store. And while online businesses can be up and running in as little as two months, you’ll face plenty of challenges from breaking into a competitive eCommerce space to finding a work/life balance that doesn’t burn you out.

If you’re looking to add ‘Business Owner’ to your CV without the lengthy timeline, consider investing in a retail franchise of your own.

Clark Rubber offers a quick 12-week period that covers everything from store fit-out to staff recruitment, documentation, and registration guidance to a pre-open training and discovery day.

If you’d like to learn about owning your own Clark Rubber franchise, click here for more information.