Financial/Business Advisors for Starting a New Business

LCALVIOUS on 12/03/2021 - 12:01
Last edited 12/03/2021 - 14:00 by 1 other user

Hey all,

I was wondering if there are any recommendations on Financial/Business Advisors that I can talk to about weighing up my options for starting a new business.
I am based in Perth and would prefer to talk to someone in person, but I am open to phone/online discussions.

Essentially, I have been working on several video games in my spare time with someone on the other side of the country and in the near future we are looking at selling our products. We would split the business ownership between us and would also be working full time at our main jobs.
Due to this being a complicated scenario, we'd like to talk to a professional before jumping into anything.

Thanks in Advance!

**Edit - looks like I should be looking more at accountants. I've found some on Google with good reviews and will see how I go with them.
Thank you for your help!

Financial

Comments

  • MS Paint on 12/03/2021 - 12:08
    +1

    Just upload the games to steam, let the market dictate its success, then split any profits with your partner.

    • CALVIOUS on 12/03/2021 - 12:56

      From what I've read, I need an ABN to sell games on Steam. Therefore I would still need to determine the best business model for us to take.

  • daalinz on 12/03/2021 - 12:08

    Are you asking how to setup the business (organisation structure)? Or are you asking if it's feasible to go into business with your idea?

    If the first option, usually accountants can help you with this.

    • CALVIOUS on 12/03/2021 - 13:03

      It's more on what business model I should take.
      I understand the general pros and cons between a partnership and a company, but this is not an easy decision.

      Once I had made a decision on what model I would what to do, I'd probably also seek an accountant to assist with the setup.

      • hellobargain21 on 12/03/2021 - 13:25

        As mentioned above, again an accountant/firm can assist you with the business model.

      • daalinz on 12/03/2021 - 13:31
        +1

        From my experience, senior accountants can advise you on a business structure depending on your circumstance. They may or may not charge you for consultation time.

        Find a reputable accountant and ask them for advice.

        Their usual approach is advise you on the best structure to minimise tax, but I'm sure the senior ones have seen their share of successful and unsuccessful business structures.

        BTW - I have my own IT business and I've done this myself.

      • Crow K on 12/03/2021 - 13:33
        +2

        Accountants usually have a good (free, because they're thirsty for work) guide about various different business types. A quick google shows me this beast, which does a good pro/con of all the types: https://www.mastax.com.au/understanding-trusts-companies-a-p…

        Read it all before making any booking so you don't waste too much consulting time with stuff like "Oh, discretionary trusts, right.. so… let's cover what that is, ELI5".

        Take the following with a grain of salt, as it is not advice:
        I suspect company is best for your (simple sounding) needs. Partnership is risking your personal assets and the dude on the other side of the country can ring up debts you could be liable for. Trusts are fine for distributing income to lots of different people (but you're making video games, so there won't be lots of income to distribute) or for asset protection purposes (but you're making video games, so there won't be any assets).

        A $2 company with each of you holding 1 share each will likely cover it, but there's a lot more nuance to your circumstances and the accountant/financial advisor will give you the best answer. Good luck on the vidya and say Hi to Sonic for me if you see him.

        • Smulder on 12/03/2021 - 15:46

          I second a company, but you should each set up a family trust to own your share in the company respectively.

          That way the company can pay dividends to the family trusts, which then have flexibility as to where to distribute the income = save tax.

          • Crow K on 12/03/2021 - 16:08

            @Smulder: Yeah, this is great when you have hundreds of thousands of income to distribute. The tax savings from running this are a pro. The fact setting up and running this additional structure each year will cost an extra couple grand a year is a con. I suspect in the early days of vidya dev they aren't going to be pulling in the sorts of money that would make this viable.

  • whooah1979 on 12/03/2021 - 13:45
    +4

    OP, you need an accountant and/or a solicitor.

    A financial advisor is for when you want to know where you can park your hard-earned money for 1% APY.

    • mini2 on 12/03/2021 - 13:55

      Yeah that - accountant on the taxation side and a solicitor looks at the actual business entity setup.

  • TheBird on 12/03/2021 - 13:51
    +1

    Have you ever sold a computer game before? It's a brutal business.

    I would still need to determine the best business model for us to take.

    What are you considering?

    As for setting up your business structure, if you genuinely think your game is going to be a home run, talk to a lawyer for your legal implications on partnerships.

    • CALVIOUS on 12/03/2021 - 14:17

      It was more of trying to get my foot in the door and use it as a side business until it would be feasible to make it a full time thing.

      Based on other people's feedback, I would be looking at talking to an accountant.
      I'll keep the lawyer idea in mind, should I need to go down that path.

      • TheBird on 13/03/2021 - 13:30

        We're in a similar position, looking at breaking in. We don't have to worry as much about the structure as we're a married couple, otherwise we'd need to look further into the lawyer route for structure.

        Ourselves, we're looking more at building a boutuqie studio releasing little indie games.

        Where we're struggling is more the revenue models and the marketing strategies. We're considering building a following with a smaller free first game forgoing most of, if not all of the revenue.

        Are you looking at breaking in for your own studio or to get a job in the industry?

  • Hithere on 12/03/2021 - 16:29

    If you are designing your own games and not just changing or modifying existing ones don't overlook consulting a Patent Lawyer to patent your original games.

    If you are looking at selling your video games patenting is worth thinking about to protect your intellectual property which may otherwise be copied or stolen by other developers.

  • whooah1979 on 12/03/2021 - 18:10

    Apps don't normally contain patents.

    • Hithere on 12/03/2021 - 19:22

      I have been working on several video games

      @ whooah1979 Where did OP or I mention apps?

      • whooah1979 on 12/03/2021 - 19:37
        -1

        Video games are apps.

        The technical term for an app is computer code used to perform as a function, task or utility on a device.

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