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Registered your ABN? What to do next.

Written by Jack Harrington and Gabriel Pozo, the founders of Urban Media, Melbourne. Updated .

Getting your ABN is step one, not the launch. This page puts the rest in order: the official registrations, then the brand, then the website and your first marketing.

It is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Check your structure with an accountant.

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The official bits, in order

  • Confirm your business structure (sole trader, company or partnership) with an accountant before you register anything else.
  • Register your business name with ASIC if you will trade under a name that is not your own legal name (asic.gov.au).
  • Register for GST if your turnover reaches the ATO threshold, or earlier if you choose. Check ato.gov.au for the current figure.
  • Check what licences, permits and insurance your industry needs (business.gov.au and business.vic.gov.au).

Check the name before you build on it

Before a logo or a website, check the name in four places: the ASIC business names register, a trade mark search with IP Australia, the domain (a .com.au needs an Australian presence, such as an ABN), and the social handles. A name that clears all four is safe to build a brand on.

Then the brand, then the website

With the name settled, the order is the one in our logo or website first guide: brand direction, then the website and photos, then launch. Building the website before the brand is a common reason new businesses redo work.

Before you spend on ads

  • Set up a Google Business Profile so you can be found on Google Maps.
  • Have real photos and one clear offer on the page the ad sends people to.
  • Be ready to answer enquiries quickly. Ads send people to you, they do not close the sale.

Where Urban Launch fits

Urban Launch does the offer, brand, website, photography and ads in one order, from $5,900 AUD excluding GST. It starts after the official registrations above, which stay with you and your accountant.

More guides for new businesses

All of them are on the guides page.

Who is behind this

Jack Harrington and Gabriel Pozo, the founders of Urban Media, on a shoot in Melbourne

Urban Launch is built and run by Urban Media (ABN 28 169 446 902), a Melbourne studio founded by Jack Harrington and Gabriel Pozo. Urban Media makes video, design and websites for clients including Box Hill United, Brighton Grammar and Porsche Club Victoria.

If you want to talk to the people doing the work, call 0456 785 904. More about who we are, and how to check us, is on the About page.

Jack Harrington, co-founder of Urban Media, on how Urban Launch works. Captions are on screen.

Common questions

Do I need an ABN before I get a logo or website?
No. You can design a brand before you have an ABN. You will want one before you take paid work as a business, and a .com.au domain needs an Australian presence, such as an ABN, so most new businesses register early.
What order should I do everything in?
Structure and ABN, then the business name, then the name checks, then the brand, then the website and photos, then launch and ads.
Is this legal advice?
No. It is general information to put the steps in order. Check your structure, GST and licences with an accountant or the official sites.

Start with a Launch Call

Live and generating enquiries within 45 days, or we keep working at no extra cost until you are. The Launch Call is where we check it is the right fit before we book anything in. For a real example, read the Airwize case study (12 conversions, meaning leads that became sales, in the first month of Google Ads from $70 of ad spend, our figures). You can also read how a launch package compares with hiring separately, or go to the packages and prices on the homepage.

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More: Brand and website package, Melbourne, Startup package for a new business, Melbourne, Branding, website and photography package, Melbourne.