It’s the sad truth that not every great idea can become a great business. On top of the right service or product, you need to put together the right business model, the right marketing, the right pricing, the right support network, and the right number of people willing to pay for it. To use a hackneyed phrase, if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail; an adage that’s as true in business as it is anywhere else. If you don’t put the time into finding out how you can turn your idea into a successful business, or whether it’s worth pursuing at all, then you could end up wasting a lot of time, energy and money.Here are a few pointers to get you started with your research. Ask yourself some questions: Before doing anything, be honest with yourself. Ask yourself some important questions. What problem does my product solve, or what gap does my service fill? Who will buy it, and why? Where would the buy it from? Who is my competition and how strong are they? What will my niche be? Asking a few basics things will give help you see whether your business is viable, and prepare for further research. Primary and secondary research: Market research is vital, and there are two ways to go about it. The first – primary research – is when you source information yourself. Send out questionnaires, conduct surveys, offer samples, and field test your idea. You’ll get a much better understand of what people want and how you can improve your offering. Less labour intensive is secondary research – gathering information from reports, analyses, and so on. You won’t get information specifically related to your business, but you will get a sense of market trends in a much faster time. Study your rivals: First, of course, you have to identify who your rivals are, then you can investigate how they do things. Who are their customers? What are their price points? How profitable are they? Are they better than you? What’s their advertising like? How good is their social media? Finding out all this information will not only help you see whether it’s worth launching your venture, but also give you ideas on how to distinguish yourself from the pack.Is there room for you? Perhaps the most important reason to study your rivals is to find out whether there’s room for you in the market? Are you original enough to exist, or are there hundreds of exact replicas out there already? Even if there are only a handful of you in the market, how many customers would you be sharing? What is the size of the financial pie you’re all trying to get a piece of? What unique selling points can you offer, or could you develop? If there’s no room for you, there’s not much point moving forward. Talk to experts: Rather than trying to figure everything out yourself, why not talk to a seasoned professional? If you can meet with a successful entrepreneur, a mentor, a small business advisor, or anybody who understands market trends, then their input could be invaluable. They have the potential to offer the kind of insight you might never receive yourself, guiding you and your business in the best direction. Pick a model: An idea will only become a successful business if your execution is right. Which is where finding a good business model for you is so important. When looking at different models, consider whether your idea is being monetised properly, how sustainable it makes your business, whether it makes your product or service accessible enough to customers, and how attractive it is for potential investors. Focus on funding: Be honest about how much your business will cost. Do you have enough funds to get it off the ground? Can you rely on anybody else’s support? If you can get it up and running, do you have sufficient working capital? You also need to set some realistic goals, such as how much you expect to sell each month, when you plan to break even, what your margins should be, and at what point you’ll need to approach finance providers such as family, friends, investors and banks. Know yourself: Central to all of this, of course, is you. Have you got what it takes? Take a long, hard look at your skills and attitude – are they good enough to make a success of your idea? Entrepreneurship is no walk in the park – there will be ups and downs, and a lot of hard work. You need to be passionate, capable, tireless and ready for anything, so make sure you believe in yourself enough before trying to launch your own business.
