For many Australian business owners, working from home has obvious appeal. There is no daily commute, you can keep overheads down and, if your business is predominantly digital, you may not need to pay for commercial premises at all.
Perhaps the biggest advantage is recruitment: operating a remote business means you aren’t restricted by hiring only people in commuting range of your office. You can build a truly international workforce and draw on a wider pool of talent.
But how do you build a successful work from home business? You’ll need more than just a laptop and a decent internet connection. Once people stop sharing the same physical workplace, businesses have to become much more deliberate about communication, accountability, technology and culture.
We know this because we’ve been through that process ourselves. BusinessesForSale.com has operated remotely for several years, with around 50 members of staff working across multiple countries. Australia is already part of that international footprint, alongside the UK, United States, India, South Africa, Mexico, Poland and Spain.
So, what have we learned about making it work?
What Kind of Work From Home Business Should You Start?
If you’re starting a business and know you want to operate from home, you’ll want to focus on things like tech, marketing, sales, design and product development. These jobs require communication and collaboration, but they don’t require everyone to sit in the same room.
Consultants, digital agencies, software companies, bookkeepers, designers, ecommerce businesses and other professional services can potentially operate from home or with a distributed team. The key is to think about what the business needs rather than assuming that having employees means having an office.
That flexibility is valuable, but it needs structure behind it. People still need clear responsibilities, achievable goals and a good understanding of what the rest of the business is trying to accomplish.
Focus on Productivity, Not Visibility
One of the traps of office culture is assuming that being visible means being productive. You can see somebody arrive at 8.30am and leave at 5.30pm, but those two observations tell you very little about what they actually achieved in between.
Remote businesses have to become better at measuring outcomes. Employees need to know what they are responsible for delivering, and managers need enough visibility to spot problems without turning remote working into permanent digital surveillance.
At BusinessesForSale.com, regular meetings help provide that structure. We use a combination of company-wide and departmental catch-ups, with the frequency depending on the team and the projects underway. At the beginning of the week, for example, the wider company gets an overview of what different departments are working on.
Create a Remote Culture People Actually Want to Join
The difficult part of building a remote company isn’t usually getting people online. It’s creating the sense that they are part of the same business when they might rarely, or never, share a workplace.
When BusinessesForSale.com was predominantly office-based, many useful conversations happened spontaneously. People chatted while making coffee, heard what another department was working on or solved a problem through a conversation nobody had thought to schedule.
Those moments become less common when everyone works remotely. We therefore had to become more conscious about creating opportunities for informal conversation as well as formal meetings.
Someone leading a remote call needs to encourage participation rather than simply delivering information to a grid of faces. We’ve found that this can sometimes work particularly well for quieter colleagues, who may find it easier to contribute remotely than to compete for space in a busy meeting room.
The aim is to work out which parts of office life were genuinely valuable and find better ways of preserving them.
Take Onboarding Seriously
While remote businesses do benefit from a wider talent pool when hiring internationally, there is a caveat: onboarding new employees can be more difficult.
A new employee in an office learns constantly without realising it. They hear how colleagues talk to customers, discover who knows the answer to particular questions and gradually pick up the company’s habits and priorities. Someone starting alone at home doesn’t have access to that background information.
Remote onboarding therefore needs more attention. New employees should have regular opportunities to speak to the people they’ll work with, understand how different parts of the business fit together and ask questions without feeling that every conversation needs a formal reason.
At BusinessesForSale.com, we bring people together in person where practical and make remote inductions more deliberate when distance makes that impossible. The principle is the same for an Australian business, whether employees are spread between neighbouring suburbs or opposite sides of the country.
The Technology That Enables Remote Working
The right technology should make distance less noticeable. A remote business needs systems for communication, shared information and documents, customer management and tracking work – without forcing employees to jump between an unnecessary number of platforms.
At BusinessesForSale.com, Microsoft Teams is central to how we communicate. We use it for video meetings, messaging and company information, and our telephone systems are integrated with Teams so calls can be handled from different locations. Pipedrive gives our sales teams visibility over leads and activity, while Zendesk provides the ticketing system used by customer service. Informal communication happens over WhatsApp, with the sales bell now replaced by memes and GIFs in the group chat.
Those aren’t necessarily the products every Australian business should choose. The useful lesson is to identify the functions you need first, then find tools that work together. A small home-based consultancy might need little more than video conferencing, cloud storage, accounting software and a CRM, while a larger distributed company will need more sophisticated systems.
Cyber security becomes particularly important once employees are accessing business systems from multiple locations. Australian government guidance recommends using secure devices, networks and tools, keeping software updated and ensuring remote employees understand how to handle sensitive information.
Starting a Work From Home Business in Australia
If you’re starting from scratch, building the business around home working from day one can be much easier than converting an established office-based company later. Work from home business ideas can include everything from consulting, copywriting and graphic design to ecommerce, tutoring, virtual assistance and other professional or digital services.
There are also Australian requirements to consider. Depending on your structure and activities, you may need an Australian Business Number, business-name and tax registrations, as well as particular licences or permits. If you’re renting, you should check your lease and speak to your landlord, while some home businesses may require approval from the relevant local council.
Insurance deserves attention too. Standard home insurance may not cover business activities, and the cover you need will depend on what the business does. Having clients visit your home, for example, may create different insurance requirements from running an entirely online operation.
There can also be tax implications. The ATO says eligible home-based businesses may be able to claim the business portion of certain running or occupancy expenses, depending on how the business operates and the area of the home being used. Using part of a home as a place of business can also have capital gains tax implications when the property is eventually sold, so this is an area where professional tax advice can be worthwhile.
You don’t necessarily have to build the business yourself either. Buying an established work from home business in Australia can provide existing customers, revenue and operating systems, allowing you to take over a business that has already proved it can function without traditional commercial premises.
The Best Remote Model Is the One That Fits Your Business
After several years of remote working, one of our clearest lessons is that there isn’t a universal formula. Some people thrive at home, while others prefer spending more time around colleagues. Some businesses can abandon the office entirely, while others benefit from keeping somewhere for teams to meet.
What matters is designing the company around the work that needs to happen. Clear goals, sensible communication and good technology allow people to operate independently without becoming disconnected from the wider business.
For Australian entrepreneurs, the geographical freedom can be particularly powerful. A company doesn’t necessarily need to be built around one CBD, one commute or even one state. Get the structure and culture right, and a work from home business can give you access to people and opportunities far beyond your own postcode.
FAQs
Do I Need an ABN to Run a Business From Home in Australia?
Many Australian businesses need an ABN, but the registrations required depend on your structure and activities. Check the current requirements before you start trading.
Do I Need Council Approval to Run a Business From Home?
Possibly. Requirements vary by local council and can depend on factors such as customer visits, signage, employees, noise and changes to the property.
Can I Claim Home Business Expenses on Tax?
Eligible businesses may be able to claim the business portion of certain running or occupancy costs. The rules depend on how you use your home and your business structure, so check current ATO guidance or speak to a tax professional.
