How to Do I Start a Dessert Buffet - Candy Buffet Business Or Sell Candy?

Thought I would write a quick blog post whilst taking a coffee break from the two events we are styling...
We get alot of enquiries about how to start a Dessert Buffet, Candy Buffet, event styling business or an online store. We have just had our inspection at Little Big Company with our local council to do with our food act and we passed with flying colours....so I thought I would write a blog post to answer some of the questions that we get on our email.
Hope it helps...
What are the steps to start my own Candy or Dessert Buffet Business or online Party store which sells candy?
1. You must register your business as a business or as a Company and get ABN and or ACN
2. You MUST get a Food Act Registration as you are handling Cakes and Candy and even if you just handle the candy you must also get Registered.  There are different levels of classifications. Your council will be able to help you with all of that and it is advisable to contact them asap when before you begin trading.  Also if you have a business that sells candy you must have a Food Act Registration.  They do checks to ensure that you are complying to all their recommendations, you can register with your local Council. You also have to have safe and clean premises as to where you store the candy, if you are packaging that candy for resell you must have an approved sink, clean area to do so.  You can read more about it here
You need one even if you are opening the bags of candy to place in the jars.
3. It is strongly advised to get Public Liability Insurance as an Event Stylist and as a business. For instance when you are doing photo shoots, you need to be covered when you are doing a shoot. Also when you are styling an event for a client you need to have public liability insurance. I recommend Business Insurance Australia here.
4. It is strongly advised to get Business Insurance.
5. We have an agreement set up with our clients which sets out our terms and conditions for them to sign before we do any event.
6. If you are earning over a certain amount of money you need to be registered for GST.
7. If you have anyone working for you, you need them to be covered with all the worksafety issues. Occupational Health and Safety (ie lifting props etc).
8. If you are booking with an Candy or Dessert Buffet Company or Cake Maker make sure that they are Food Act Compliant and are covered, they have a registered kitchen etc.
9. Now you can have fun sourcing all the props, tablecloths, risers, jars, cakestands etc!!!
I also like this Ehow article about how to star a Candy Buffet Business here...

Feel free to ask some more questions :)