Some have been a good experience and provided much more positive interaction.While other forums i have been a member of have been a total waste of time. As you can imagine spending time on a lot of forums, can leave little time for other important things. As such over time I have distilled the number of forums which I frequent a little.The way that i choose the forums i frequent is very deliberate, in that I seek to visit forums which i can contribute to, and also benefit from.

With this in mind i wanted to share with you today my favorite three forums. In order which I have longest been a member,

http://www.small-business-forum.net – The name says it, the theme here is Small Business, there is a little deviation into some other area’s such as Internet, however mostly in the context of business. This has been one of the more frequent forums which I have visited, and find the discussion to be quite interesting, and often changing on many different business topics.

http://www.stevepavlina.com/forums/ – This is a forum which i honestly do not get to as much as i would like. The primary topic here is Personal Development, and covers quite a good range of topics within this area. The topic is really quite a large area, in that there are so many different ways in which you can develop yourself. Besides the forum, i also enjoy reading Steve’s Blog, which almost covers an even wider variety of topics.

http://www.problogger.com – This forum is a little different, as in you need to pay for membership. At time of writing they are offering an introductory price, however this is only for a limited time (not to sure how long exactly). The primary topic of discussion is blogging. So far from my experience the topic is quite focused and there is a lot of quality information that is shared. The benefit in this being a paid community is that it immediately pretty much any chance of spam, and in my opinion means that you will generally get a better level of people participating.

So feel free to take a look and join, i believe that these sites are all worth the time to be a member, however this is of course a personal preference.

The forum has been quite active now for over a year, and it is some where that i would definetaly suggest you consider visiting if you enjoy discussing business.

There are a great range of topics that are discussed including Financials, legals, marketing (traditional and internet), web topics, and a range of other topics both relating to business and sometimes not so much.

You can find your way to the site by eight clicking on the image to the left, or visit the link http://www.small-business-forum.net.

SmartLicence – Smart Licence is a service provided by the Queensland Government which will help you have a better idea of what licences you are likely to need for your business, based on a range of questions that you are taken through. The service as defined by the website follows.

SmartLicence will provide you with tailored business licensing information including:

• Summary information on the State, Local and Commonwealth Government requirements for your particular business
• The name, address and telephone number of the agency responsible for each listing
• Licence application forms
• Details of licence fees, periods of cover, and renewals
• On-line lodgement and secure payment for some licences

Fair Trading Queensland – This is another website operated by the Queensland Government. While the SmartLicence site above can help you determine which licences you need, and give you access to the forms. The Fair Trading website provides a wider range of information for consumers and businesses as well as industry specific information relating to licences and the requirements for obtaining them.

I will be adding to this information as i find more relevant links, and you can also submit links by visiting the contact page.

Australia Business Register (ABR) – The ABR website allows you to perform a number of different applications which you may need if you are planning to start a business in Australia. These include registrations for an Australian Business Number (ABN), Business Tax File Number (TFN), Goods and Services Tax (GST), Fuel Tax Credits, and Pay as you go(PAYG) withholding.

ABN Lookup on business.gov.au – Every business in Australia needs to register for an ABN, you can search for an ABN for a business entity in Australia through this site. It gives only a few basic details, however can be useful in a number of cases.

Business.gov.au – This is a fantastic site that provides a lot of information for businesses in Australia. While i could try and give you my explanation of the site, maybe the explanation from the site is better.

business.gov.au offers you simple and convenient access to all the government information, transactions and services you need. It’s a whole-of-government service providing essential information on planning, starting and running your business.

As i find them i will definately be adding more information to this page, and making it easier for you to find the information all in one place.