Don't Just Learn. Work on Something Real.

A real project designed around your skills, goals and next opportunity.

Have a skill, idea or ambition you want to explore but need real experience and a place to start?

Most people don't need more advice.

They need a chance to try something real.

The Trial Project™ helps you learn by doing while keeping the first step practical and manageable.

You may discover that your idea is:

✓ a career opportunity
✓ a freelance service
✓ a side hustle
✓ a community project
✓ a business opportunity
✓ or simply not the right direction — which is useful to know too.

There is no pressure to turn every project into a business.

The goal is to test the opportunity, build evidence and make a better next decision.

The Trial Project™ is our practical way of turning your individual goal into a real-world project opportunity.

We assess where you are, identify where your skills could create value, and then design a project around what you need to achieve next.

You don't just receive advice.

You work on the project.

You build something useful, work with relevant people, gain practical experience and create evidence of what you can actually do.

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Choose Your Trial Project

Career & Portfolio Trial Project™

Prove what you can do. Build evidence for what's next.

For professionals, students, graduates, migrants, people returning to work or anyone exploring a new direction.

Turn your skills or experience into a practical project that can help you:

strengthen your resume and LinkedIn profile
build portfolio evidence
demonstrate practical capability
gain Australian or real-world experience
identify career and freelance opportunities

You get:

✓ Opportunity and skills assessment
✓ Personalised Trial Project design
✓ Guided project development
✓ Project templates and resources
✓ Portfolio-ready project evidence
✓ Completion certificate
✓ Next-step career pathway session

Best for:
Career exploration • Return to work • Portfolio building • Australian experience • Freelance exploration

CTA: Start My New Career Trial

Side Hustle Venture Trial Project™

Turn a skill, idea or interest into a real offer you can test.

For people who want to explore a side income, freelance service, micro-business or social venture without jumping straight into a full business.

Together, we work through a practical project to:

✓ identify the opportunity
✓ shape the offer
✓ define who it could help
✓ create a simple way to present it
✓ test it through a real project
✓ gather feedback and evidence
✓ identify realistic next steps

You get:

✓ Everything in Career & Portfolio
✓ Offer development
✓ Customer / audience discovery
✓ Simple business model development
✓ Trial launch or pilot
✓ Feedback and refinement
✓ Basic marketing direction
✓ Next-step monetisation plan

Outcome:
Skill / Idea → Trial Project → Evidence → Potential Paid Offer

CTA: Start My Side Hustle Trial

Startup Venture Trial Project™

Develop and test your startup idea before committing heavily.

For aspiring founders, existing small businesses or people with a stronger venture idea who want practical support to shape, test and develop it.

The focus is on learning through action, not producing a business plan that stays in a document.

Together, we can explore:

✓ Problem and customer opportunity
✓ Offer and value proposition
✓ Business model
✓ Market and competitor research
✓ Prototype or pilot
✓ Customer feedback
✓ Marketing and positioning
✓ Growth opportunities
✓ Practical next-step roadmap

You get:

✓ Everything in Side Hustle Venture
✓ Deeper venture development support
✓ Business model refinement
✓ Pilot / prototype planning
✓ Customer testing
✓ Growth pathway
✓ Practical launch roadmap
✓ Venture portfolio / case-study evidence

Outcome:
Idea → Prototype / Pilot → Evidence → Decide Whether to Build Further

CTA: Start My Startup Trial

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What Makes a Trial Project™ Different?

This is not a course, generic mentoring package or business plan exercise.

Every Trial Project™ is designed around the individual.

Depending on your goal, Deals Colony may:

Assess your skills, experience, interests and direction.

Identify a practical opportunity where those skills can be applied.

Design a real project around that opportunity.

Connect you with relevant people, projects, members or organisations through the Deals Colony network.

Guide you through the project as you build and deliver.

Create evidence that can support your next career, freelance, side-hustle or venture opportunity.

The project scope — and therefore the price — depends on what needs to be created, who needs to be involved and how much Deals Colony support is required.

Choose the Opportunity You Want to Test.

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Every Trial Project™ Is Different

There is no one-size-fits-all project.

A Trial Project™ may involve:

One person building career evidence.
A professional developing a new capability.
Someone testing a side hustle.
A creator developing a workshop or service.
An entrepreneur testing a new offer.
A startup developing a venture.

The project is designed around what you need to prove, build or experience next.

That's why pricing starts from $499.

These are starting prices. Every Trial Project™ is individually designed and priced according to scope, complexity and Deals Colony involvement.

Your final project scope is based on:

Your goal
The opportunity identified
What needs to be created
The people and resources involved
The level of Deals Colony project leadership and support required

Trial Project™

Name: Trial Project™
Price: 499 AUD
Availability: InStock

From $499.00

Individuals & professionals

Small Business

Choose Your Trial Project

0/500

Quantity

For people who need real experience, portfolio evidence or a clearer career direction.

We identify where your existing skills could be applied and create a practical project that helps you build experience in that direction.

Example

A participant wanted to build an IT career in Australia and was studying ITIL but had limited local experience.

After assessment, we identified opportunities around data analysis, process improvement and ITIL.

Rather than simply advising her to improve her resume, we created a real Deals Colony project for her to work on analysing the organisation's existing information, developing processes and creating ITIL-related documentation.

She works on the project as a practical opportunity, with guidance from Deals Colony and collaboration with relevant people within the network.

The result isn't just a certificate.

It is real project experience, practical evidence and a stronger story to take into her next opportunity.

START MY CAREER PROJECT →
For people who want to test a skill, interest or passion as a paid opportunity without having to start a full business.

We create a real project that lets you practise the skill, create something tangible and test whether there is an opportunity to offer it to others.

Example

A participant loved arts and crafts and wanted to explore a side hustle, but wasn't ready to build a full business.

Instead, we created a practical content and workshop project.

She could develop videos showing what she creates, build confidence presenting her skills and potentially deliver an online school-holiday workshop through the Deals Colony ecosystem.

This gives her something many people struggle to get:

real experience before committing to a full business.

START MY SIDE-HUSTLE PROJECT →
For people with a stronger business, startup or venture idea that needs deeper development and testing.

This is a more involved project where Deals Colony may assess the opportunity, develop the business model, shape products or services, create a blueprint and work with the participant to test the offer in the real world.

Depending on the opportunity, we may collaborate on:

Business & Opportunity Analysis
Understand the concept, market, customer and opportunity.

Venture Blueprint
Create a practical roadmap for what needs to be developed.

Products & Services
Develop or refine offers that can actually be delivered or sold.

Pilot / Trial Project
Put the offer into practice and gather real feedback.

Marketing & Positioning
Develop the story, offer and pathway to market.

Deals Colony Collaboration
Where appropriate, the venture may connect into Deals Colony projects, programmes, partners and the wider network.

The objective isn't to create another business plan sitting in a folder.

It's to build, test and develop something that can move towards market.

START MY VENTURE PROJECT →
1. Assess

We understand your skills, experience, interests, challenges and goals.

2. Identify

We look for a practical opportunity where those strengths can be applied.

3. Design

Deals Colony creates a real project around that opportunity.

4. Deliver

You work on the project while Deals Colony provides the project direction, guidance and relevant connections.

5. Evidence

You build practical experience, outputs, portfolio evidence and a story around what you achieved.

6. Decide What's Next

Your project can lead towards a career opportunity, freelance work, side hustle, community contribution or further venture development.

Built Around Our 2-Hour-a-Week Model

Trial Projects are designed around small, consistent progress rather than trying to build everything at once.

Start small. Test something real. Learn from it. Build what deserves to grow.

Your Project Can Become Your Proof

Instead of saying:

"I think I can do this."

you can start saying:

"I worked on this."
"I built this."
"I delivered this."
"Here's what I learned."
"Here's the evidence."

And where the opportunity is right, your Trial Project™ can become the first step into the wider Deals Colony and Australia Circular Innovation Network™.

It can become:

Portfolio evidence
A case study
A service offer
A freelance opportunity
A community initiative
A business concept
A stepping stone into the Deals Colony network

Test the Opportunity. Work on Something Real. Build Your Proof.

START YOUR TRIAL PROJECT™

Trial Project™

Career / Portfolio Trial Project™

Side Hustle Trial Project™

Startup / Venture Trial Project™

How Your Trial Project™ Works