How to evaluate your idea

From great ideas come great enterprises, in every sense. All entrepreneurs dream of having the great intuition that will lead them to success, so if you’ve had an epiphany too, congratulations! You have taken the first step! Before letting yourself be overwhelmed by the euphoria, keep in mind what every small business owner will tell you: the temptation to throw yourself headlong into the new business leaving out the preliminary phase is strong, but remember that this phase is fundamental to determining success or failure. of your new idea. We describe in this article, how to evaluate your idea?

Every new business takes time and money; we’ve created this guide to help you understand if your idea can have a future.

Do you have an evaluate your idea for new business? Let’s start here!

Consider these aspects to evaluate your idea before starting your business:

1. Write the business plan.
2. Evaluate the market demand.
3. Find out who your direct and indirect competitors are.
4. Get to know your customers: who are they? What do they want?
5. Ask for opinions on your idea.

1. Write the business plan

True, writing a business plan can be tedious, and we often tend to postpone this activity, but try to see it as an opportunity to evaluate your idea think locally and rearrange ideas. Write without overthinking what your opinion is and add sections about:

● customers (target, sales projections, customer loyalty)

● the company (legal form, registered office)

● the team (founders, mission, long-term goals)

If you start with a good business plan already, you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches along the way. The goal of the business plan is to guide you in the realization of your business and to help you carefully consider your idea and the risks you may face before dedicating body and soul to your new adventure. You can look at some business plan examples offered by the australia sports betting.

The business plan allows you to stop and focus on the numbers: after all (it really should be said), it’s about your job and your earnings. Before starting your business, you must decide what earnings you expect (will it be a part-time or full-time business?) And from there, understand how much is necessary to achieve the goal you have set. Do your estimated costs and your profit forecasts match? Please, don’t cheat!

Still, need help? Also, read these exciting tips from Jan Evers on creating your business plan.

2. Evaluate the market demand

Do you know the meaning of the saying “Put the cart before the horse,” but have you fallen for it in full? If you launch your product or service before testing the market, you will undoubtedly be disappointed. We don’t want that to happen!

Do you have a concrete idea for a new business in mind, but is there room for you on the market?

Ask yourself three questions:

1. What problems of my potential customers will my business solve?
2. How are these issues being addressed today?
3. Does my product/service already exist? How will it stand out, and what can I guarantee better than what already exists?

Your idea may be groundbreaking, but most likely, something similar already exists out there. Even the most ingenious ideas follow market demand, so the real question is: “Is there room for another idea?” Your answers will help you understand if you can offer a one-time solution to an existing problem or if you can do it better than the competition.

3. Find out who your competitors are

As great as the idea is for your new business, you will always have competitors to compete with, but you can also take advantage of them. When evaluating your opinion, try to understand who your competitors are, find out what they do (or don’t do), and think of a way to outdo them. Alternatively, find more information at – https://www.southafricancasinosites.com/online-slots/ website.

Find out who your direct competitors are

Direct competitors are those businesses that offer precisely the same product or service as you. For example, open a pizzeria. Your direct competitors will be the other pizzerias in the area, and you will have to compete with them for the preferences of the inhabitants of your neighbourhood.

Don’t forget indirect competitors.

Indirect competitors sell different products or services that can satisfy the same need.  You’re on your way home after a busy working day. You don’t want to prepare dinner, but you would gladly eat an excellent Margherita pizza, perhaps double mozzarella. You could call your favourite pizzeria and order one, but you could also stop at a roadside rotisserie; why not? After all, your desire for something good will still be satisfied. In this case, the rotisserie is an indirect competitor of the pizzeria.

Can you be a good competitor?

Once you understand your competitors, ask yourself how likely customers are to choose you over others. Can you compete with the competition? Will customers choose your business? Therefore, you must find out what the British call  Unique Selling Point  (USP), or your whole sales argument that will distinguish you from the competition.

Even if there are tons of takeaways in your area, opening a pizzeria could still be a good business. You could propose yourself as the only vegan pizzeria in the city: it could be a great USP.

TIP: Look at the online customer reviews of your competitors. Focus on those with three or four out of five stars because they usually correspond to customers who like the product or service but have something to say about some aspect of the competition. So try to outdo the competition in these aspects!

4. Get to know your customers

Now that you’ve found a space for your business in the market, it’s time to know who your customers will be. Who am I? What do they want? How can you help them achieve their goals? Doing some market research will help you.

We can safely say goodbye to door-to-door surveys; now, you can find all the answers you want on the net. You can use free software like  Typeform and  Google forms to create simple surveys to share on social media. If you prefer traditional methods or think your potential customers are not particularly tech-savvy, you can always print your questions and drop in. Street!

Whichever way you decide to go, use your survey to figure out who people are interested in your product, what they need, and how likely they are to become actual customers. Usually, a dozen questions are enough to get a helpful idea without boring anyone.

● How old are they?

● Where do they live?

● Are they men or women?

● What work do they do?

● Do they already buy services or products similar to yours? If so, how much do they spend and how often?

● What goals do they have?

● What are their hobbies?

● What are their favourite brands, and why?

Use the answers to draw a picture of your prospects, consider the idea behind your business from their point of view, and then decide if it will meet their needs.

Not sure where to find your customers?

To find potential customers, you have to think like one of them. Try searching through Facebook groups they might be members of. For example, do you want to start a dog sitter service in Milan? Try searching for “Dog owners in Milan” or “Four-legged friends in Milan” or something like that to find groups of people who might be interested in your business. If, on the other hand, you want to establish yourself as a wedding planner for exclusive weddings, try starting by looking at the online forums dedicated to brides or participating in wedding fairs.

TIP: Having a clear idea of ​​your ideal customer is key to starting your business. The definition of objectives and marketing personas  (or your ideal customers) will help you precisely optimize the budget for marketing activities because it will allow you to reach your potential customers.

5. Ask for opinions

There is no better way to tell if your business will work. Go for it and evaluate your idea! You don’t need to invest time and money yet to test your idea; you can create a free site in minutes with  Jimdo Dolphin and use it as a showcase for your product or service. If you see that your idea works, you will already have at your fingertips all the advantages that a website can give you to promote your business.

Once you have created your site, please share it with friends, relatives, and colleagues to get their opinion on your idea, or, better yet, share it on social networks and analyze the feedback. This could be the first step in creating a  winning social networking strategy for your new business.

● Are people intrigued by your business?

● Have you received requests for information?

● What are people saying in social media comments?

When a real customer finds you thank your site, you will be well on your way!