Do you have a winning business idea?
So you’ve had a lightbulb moment and have been struck by inspiration for a new business. Before you go sinking money, time, and effort into it, run it against the Good Idea check list to make sure it is going to pay off.
Does it fix a problem?
If your idea is one that is based around something that addresses a pain point for you, chances are a lot of other people have the same pain point and are highly interested in something that will make said pain point go away.
Will people pay for it?
While your business idea might sound like the next greatest thing, the test is in whether you can convince customers and clients to part with their money and lure them away from their existing brand loyalties. Would you pay for your idea if you heard it from someone else?
Can you establish a price point and profitability?
After you’ve established that people will pay for your idea, figuring out how much to charge while making enough of a profit to keep afloat can be a tough decision, especially in the first year while you are building a dedicated client base.
Contact the business experts
How big is the market for your idea?
Is your chosen market large enough to sustain your idea? It may be that your idea is niche and will only appeal to a small number of people, so you have to make sure that the number of people that will be interested in your idea is going to be able to make you the right amount of revenue.
How passionate about your idea are you?
A new business will eat up a lot, if not all, of your time. Are you that invested in your idea? Keeping in mind that a lot of work in the business won’t be the idea itself, but also building the infrastructure that supports the idea – the marketing and the accounting and the team assembly and all the boring admin. You will need to be completely dedicated to your idea to give it wings and make it take flight.
Has your market been tested?
This is an important one. Testing your market will mean that you can gauge the desire for your idea, and in so doing see what you need to do regarding marketing and research and development to put your organisation ahead of your competitors.
Are you open to advice from others?
Are you willing to sacrifice the “purity” of your business idea to meet market demand? Your business will sink or swim on what the market wants, so tailoring your idea to meet that can mean asking for help and actioning that advice.
Are your goals realistic?
Nobody is going to make a million in the first week. Being able to set realistic goals for your business will ensure you don’t burn out and get disillusioned. Tools such as SWOT Analysis, benchmarking to see where you can expect to be in relation to businesses similar to yours, and market research will help you to set achievable goals which will grow your business well.
What is your elevator pitch?
You have 30 seconds in an elevator with the philanthropist of your dreams to convince them to invest. What do you say? You have 150-250 words to say who you are, what you do, who your target audience is, and what your point of difference is. In that teeny amount of time you must also tell them what your goals are and why your organisation is important. Can you do it?