Queensland’s Business Basics Grants Program

Since 2020, Australia has seen a spike in businesses going digital however, not everyone’s post-COVID story has been such a success. A lot of traditional businesses that originally focused on face-to-face sales or profited from a brick and mortar store have been in a tailspin ever since the lockdowns but there is hope!

That’s right, the Queensland Government are launching a $25 Million grant program in an effort to help those business who have been suffering.

Introducing Business Basics Grants Program

On May 31st 2021, the Queensland Government will be taking applications for it’s $5,000 funding Business Basics grant. The QLD Government’s Business Basics grant program aims to provide support to all businesses that are finding the digital space a little tricky to navigate.

Business Basics grant’s eligible activities

To help those who are doing it tough online, the grant will be funding the eligible activities below.

Website build or upgrades

• Website build or upgrade (including website refresh)
• Adding e-commerce
• Developing new website content

How this could help your business: If you’ve been holding off upgrading or redesigning your website, now is the time to start! With the $5000 grant, you could transform several areas of your website to explode your lead generation process. If you’re more focused on product sales, then upgrading your eCommerce store with engaging call-to-actions and other digital marketing strategies could see your profit margin skyrocket. Our hourly rate for website design work is $150+GST which means if you’re successful, you’ll have over 33 hours of ‘free’ website maintenance to give your business the website makeover it deserves.

Strategic marketing services

• Strategic marketing plans including search engine optimisation advice

How this could help your business: Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO for short, is an ever changing landscape with Google moving the goalposts almost every week. This means to rank your website in the 1st spot on Google, you need to have a deep understanding of how to get there and how to stay there. With the Government’s Business Basics grant, we’ll not only create a detailed SEO strategy for your business for the next 6 months but take a deeper look (pun intended) at all of your marketing channels and map out a 6 month strategy that will help your business dominate its industry.

Training and coaching

• Business development, marketing, human resources or business planning topics
• Training or coaching

How this could help your business: Although human resources and business development aren’t areas we specialise in, we’ve partners with Brisbane’s and the Gold Coast’s most experienced industry experts, and after a quick chat on the phone, we can help lead you in the right direction depending on what your needs are. Chatting with our friendly team won’t cost you a thing but could save your business $5000!

Professional business advice

• Business plans

How this could help your business: Just like we mentioned above, Business Plan’s aren’t our forte. But if you’re in the market for a website and digital marketing audit, we’re the team for you!

Business continuity and succession

• Business continuity or succession plans
• Cybersafety training and tools

How this could help your business: It might not sound like we’re cybersafety experts but when it comes to locking down your business’s website and protecting your customers’ data, it’s second nature to us. In fact, every website we build we integrate a world-class security protocol that keeps offenders out and your regular visitors safe 24 hours a day, 7 days week.

Need a quote?

If you need a quote for anything we’ve listed above, fill in the form on https://deeperlook.com.au/quote/ or give our friendly team a call on 1300 809 722 and we’ll make sure you have a quote before the applications start.

What’s not eligible?

Well, that list is quite extensive with some notable activities like purchasing hardware (ie computers, mobiles and tablets), as well as general business operating costs (ie bookkeeping or accounting fees). Funnily enough, the Queensland Government have also listed buying Bitcoin and Stocks as a no-no.

That said, if you’re looking to use the grant money for good (ie, for a new website for your Brisbane based business or a marketing plan), then the Business Basics grant is for you.

You can read about these exclusions by visiting: https://www.business.qld.gov.au/starting-business/advice-support/grants/business-basics-grant 

How can you apply for the Business Basics grant?

That’s a great question!

Applications for the grant open on May the 31st , 2021 so you should start preparing your application as soon as you can.

To make sure your application is successful, you’ll need to read over their Key Documents like the Application Guideline and the Terms & Conditions.

They’ve also included a list of Frequently Asked Questions to help make the process a little more smoother, as well as an Eligibility Checker which we recommend running through before starting your application – you can see our cheat sheet below:

• have fewer than 20 employees at the time of applying for the grant
• have an active Australian Business Number (ABN) and be registered for GST
• have a Queensland headquarters
• have a turnover of $300,000 or less for the current financial year
• not be insolvent or have owners/directors that are an undischarged bankrupt.

Last but not least, you’ll need a Statutory Declaration from the business’s owner starting that your business:

• does not have a annual turnover exceeding $300,000, and
• meets all grant eligibility criteria.

As well as:

• a proposal detailing the activities you will purchase, and
• supplier quotes detailing who will undertake the work, description of services, and outline key activities (no more than 2 quotes and the total must equal at least $5,000 before GST).

What are you waiting for? This grant is limited to just 5000 businesses so you’ll need to be quick. And if you need a quote for get be elibile for the Business Basics grant, you can call us on 1300 809 722 or fill in our Quote form at https://deeperlook.com.au/quote/ and we’ll organise a quote that day!