Will your business idea work?

If there is one piece of business advice I wish I had actually listened to a few years ago it is that you should always, always, test out your idea first. It could seem like a great idea to you to make disposable widgets, but the rest of the world has to be convinced. You can do a lot of that convincing with real people in focus groups or questionnaires. Or you could simply try out the value test I present here, in this post.

How to check if your business will work

When I use the word ‘work’ I mean will the business idea be something that can sustain you, bring you a salary, help you pay your bills, and then some. Because let’s get one thing straight, no one really comes up with a great idea and then expects it to just pay the same at the job the guy next door has. You’re an entrepreneur, and you want to make a lot of money so that you can one day either sell your company or drive it on into the multiple millions. So ‘work’ here means to a) survive past the first three years and b) to bring in steadily growing amounts of profit.

The first question is have you studied the competition?

You may know that you will have competition, but knowing this and actually doing something about it are two different things. Take the time to study the competition, and study their marketing. Doing this will allow you to find out what the competition does to gain customers and build trust.

If you study how the competition approaches the market you can do one of two things. You can create marketing and a product that goes against the industry while still being attractive, or you can model your new business on the competition's. Either way, you are not going into the fight blind.

Will it scale?

This stuff really matters. You need to predict whether or not your product or service is 'disruptive' enough and scaleable enough to stand the test of time. Will you be able to scale up so that you can simply build more and more of what you do to serve a growing demand?

Is what you do different enough to have an impact on the market? If it isn't immediately looking like it is, you may need to refine your idea so it stands out. This could save you a lot of money.

Will the business grow through scaling up? And will it be different enough to be noticeable among the competition? Find the answers to these two questions and you will be better able to make a decision on launching.

Is it a passion?

Another crucial aspect. You're going to find yourself facing all sorts of problems and challenges, and your ability to forge on through because you need to make it successful is vitally important. This only comes if you are truly passionate about the business you intend to start. Take a look at the industry, does it excite you? Do you want to make your mark in that particular field?

Passion will keep you awake at night after working for sixteen hours straight. Passion will help you to pitch, negotiate and stay focused.

Without a passion for the product and the industry, you can't possibly expect to be around in ten years time. And if you are around in ten years time with the same business, you won't be happy.

If you're ready to launch, look at these three questions. Be honest with yourself. Because it is a hard road ahead.

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