STEP TWO
EVALUATING YOUR BUSINESS IDEA
Most people fail to spend the time necessary to evaluate the
actual business idea.
They jump right into working on the business plan or taking classes
on starting a business. Some even get to the point of actually
starting and running the business before they realize that maybe this
particular idea was not the best one to start with.
It is very important to take time to research your business idea.
The research can include using the internet, asking friends and
family and even asking someone that you don’t know who is doing
what you want to do. You will be quickly surprised how open other
business owners will be about the lessons learned while starting their
business.
STEP THREE
11 | Emerge
DEVELOPING THE BUSINESS IDEA
The next step is to get that idea out of your head and onto paper. If
you never write your idea down it doesn’t stand a chance of becoming a reality. While it is in your head it keeps constantly changing
every time you have a new thought or spoken with someone about it.
Take a few minutes and answer the questions below to develop the
idea so you can review it objectively.
BUSINESS IDEA DEVLOPMENT QUESTIONS
1. WHAT TYPE OF BUSINESS DO YOU WANT TO START?
2. WHY WILL YOU BE SUCCESSFUL WITH THIS TYPE OF BUSINESS? (YOU HAVE A CERTAIN SKILL, BACKGROUND, EXPERIENCE AND/OR PASSION FOR THIS TYPE OF BUSINESS)
I recommend when approaching people to ask questions, keep your
list of questions to a reasonable amount (5 to 6 questions). You may
have more but be courteous of a person’s time. You may want to call
on them again, but do not overwhelm them.
3. WHEN WILL YOU START YOUR BUSINESS? (LETS PUT A LINE
IN THE SAND. PICK A TIME THAT YOU PLAN TO GET YOUR
BUSINESS GOING)
One question to ask yourself, Is this something that I would do
if I did not need the money?
4. WHAT WILL YOUR BUSINESS DO? (FOR EXAMPLE, START WITH
“WE PROVIDE”)
Most likely it will be rough going getting started. You WILL wake
occasionally and ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?”
Don’t spend weeks on this. You will continue to find out more as
you move along the path. Put a start and stop date on this process.
Focus on only the things you still have questions about.
5. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 3 PRODUCTS OR SERVICES THAT YOU
WILL OFFER?
6. WHO IS YOUR COMPETITION?
After you finish this process you will begin to feel more
confident about your idea.
7. WHO WILL BUY YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES?
RESEARCH YOUR BUSINESS IDEA
9. HOW WILL YOU SELL YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE?
One method of doing this is by using Google or another search
engine (Bing, Ask, etc.) to search for specific information by using
keywords or phrases. The great thing about Google is that you can
ask a question exactly the way you would ask a person.
For example; if you want to start a landscape business simply put in
the Google search window “I want to start a landscape business.”
Look at the results below and gather information about your idea.
Note: Getting many search results is a good thing. This means your
idea is popular and a lot of other people are considering it. Your
job is to get your potential customers to buy from you. We call that
marketing.
RESEARCHING YOUR COMPETITION
You will also be able to use google to research your competition.
By entering simple search terms into google you can research your
competition. You will be very surprised at the information that will
come back. Using the “Landscape Company” as an example enter
the term “Landscape Company” along with your “Zip Code” and view
the results. You will have all the information you need to find out more
about your competition. You will also get ideas about what type of
website you will have as well as the products and services that you
might offer.
8. WHY WILL THEY BUY IT FROM YOU?
10. WHERE WILL YOU GET THE FUNDING TO START YOUR
BUSINESS?
Friends
Family
Business Loan
Credit Card
SBA
Micro Lender
Answering these question will put you on the right path to developing
your business idea. There are no right or wrong answers. You job
now is to take the answers and do more research to fully devlop your
business plan.
SUMMARY
If you follow the three steps outlined in this article you will be well on
your way to getting your business started. You can use the assessments and research methods over and over again for any business
idea that you come up with. The most important thing to remember
is that …
Yes You Can Develop Your Idea and Start A Business Today!
MARC E. PARHAM BIO
Marc E. Parham is a business coach, professional speaker, radio host
and author of the book “Yes I Can – Develop My Idea and Start My Own
Business”. He has been working for over 20 years to help people start
and grow businesses.
His mission is simple, to educate and coach people to start taking more
control of their lives by learning how to start their own small business.
On October 11, 2013 Marc was invited and attended a meeting with
President Obama to discuss how the shut down and debt ceiling issues
were affecting small business. The meeting was held at the White
House and it was co-sponsored by Business Forward. Marc, a member
of the Business Forward Local Leadership Council was one of a select
group of nine individuals invited to attend the meeting.
Marc is a Managing Partner at the CAPBuilder Network Group; (www.
capbuildernetwork.com) a consulting company whose focus is helping
people start and grow their own businesses. He is the creator the successful business information site called The CapBuilder Network (www.
capbuildernetwork.com) and radio talk show CAPBuilder Talk (www.
capbuildertalk.com) that provides articles, information and resources to
help start and grow small businesses. He also is a business coach and
trainer at the Urban League of Greater Atlanta.
He is available for speaking, coaching and other business events using
the contact information listed below.
email: [email protected] 770-634-7231
Website: www.marceparham.com, www.capbuildernetwork.com, www.
capbuildertak.com