out the rough edges of your idea and
follow a few basic steps to make your
seed grow and blossom.
Start by taking a closer look at your
idea and asking some tough questions
about it. Does it fit your lifestyle? Does
it fit with your strengths and skills? Is
there a niche in the marketplace for it?
If you can honestly answer positively,
consider the feasibility of your business
idea.
The key word to determining the
feasibility of your idea is sustainability.
If you’ll be providing goods, you’ll
need stable, reliable suppliers. If you
intend to provide a service, you’ll
need a steady stream of clients. Either
way, you’ll need to calculate your
start-up costs, your operating costs,
and how much business you’ll need
to do to break even. Determining the
long-term feasibility of your idea will
require market research.
Market research can take a few
different forms, but before you get
started, set some goals for your
research. First and foremost, identify
your target customer. They’ll be the
most important resource for your
business, so you should have a firm
grasp of their needs. Determining
factors like age and income level
will help you tailor your approach to
attract and retain business.
Likewise, research your prospective
competitors: find out who they are,
what products or services they
provide, any competitive advantages
they may have, and who their target
customers are.
When researching, always start with
secondary sources – data provided by
outside sources, like Statistics Canada
or various trade organizations. This
is where you’ll find information about
the market and the industry you want
to enter, for example. Secondary data
tends to cost far less in both time and
money compared to primary research,
so be as exhaustive as possible.
Primary research involves leg work:
customer questionnaires, interviews,
and surveys. The upside to that hard
work is that you can design your
survey questions to produce precisely
the data you need.
When both primary and secondary
sources have been sufficiently mined
for information, analyze the data.
By comparing information about
your customers to information about
your competitors, you may find
opportunities where your customers’
needs are not being met.
With those opportunities in mind,
and all the questions you’ve already
tackled, you’re ready to develop a
business plan. Your business plan is
a critical document; it’s the guide that
you will follow to success and will
provide crucial information to potential
lenders and investors.
Your business plan should include
basic information, such as what
product you’ll be selling or what
service you’ll be providing, what
type of industry you’ll be in (retail,
manufacturing, high technology, etc.),
your advantage over your competition,
your main objectives, and what time
frame you have in mind to meet your
goals. Also, include the business’s
vital statistics, like the name of your
business, the date it was registered,
the business’s address, phone number,
Web address, email, and so on.
When developing your business
plan you’ll need to make some
complicated decisions about the
structure of your business. There are a
few different forms your business can
take, each with its own advantages
and disadvantages.
A sole proprietorship, for example,
gives you, the owner, all the control
and provides some tax advantages,
but also leaves you solely liable,
which may also affect your ability to
raise capital. On the other hand,
a partnership provides a broader
management base and a broader
asset base, but authority will be
VOLUME 1 - ISSUE 2 | yourBusiness Online
7