There are various layers to a business and most starting businessmen focus on the wrong ones. We’ve started this post with a controversial statement but it is nonetheless true. There is a reason that the majority of start-ups in the world fail. A number of start-ups that fail would comfortably be above the 50 percent range. In the majority of the cases, start-ups fail because the entrepreneurs behind them fail. The new business idea or the concept is very viable on a standalone basis but is not the right one for the entrepreneur concerned.
In other words, while the budding entrepreneur considered whether the new business idea is promotable or not, he never considered whether he can promote it or not. Regardless of market statistics and demand trends, a new business idea will only work if it suits the budding entrepreneur pushing it. Therefore, if you have a new business idea, then the first thing you need to analyse is whether it’s an idea that will work for you.
Market feasibility, financial ramifications and other implementation related analyses can be handled later. Here are a few questions that you need to ask yourself to figure out if the new business idea will for you or if you should let it pass and move on to something else.
New Business Idea Q1: Will You Be Doing Something You Love?
Here’s a secret for you. If you go for business coaching, you’ll be taught this by your instructors. In fact, you go to any kind of developmental coaching and you’ll come across this concept in one way or another. The secret is that every idea out there is workable and it’s highly likely that someone somewhere is already making it work.
It’s not that every new business idea has legs. Instead, it is that you can give legs to every new business idea. The tool you need to give your new business idea is passion. If your new business idea revolves around something you love, then you can be pretty sure that it’ll work for you and work in general too.
Why? It’s simple. While every new business idea can be given legs, even the best of ideas can fail if you don’t put effort into it. If you devote yourself, then any new business idea will work. However, devotion isn’t voluntary. No matter how hard you try, if you don’t love the task, assignment, work, sector, or industry, you’ll never be able to make it work. This is why you need to ensure that your new business idea revolves around something you love.
New Business Idea Q2: Is The Motivation About The Money Or The Concept?
You’ll see a general trend in this post. It will focus on what you feel about the new business concept more than anything else. In our opinion, this is as important as the technical side of things i.e. testing the business idea for its viability. Besides, we’ve already covered that perspective in an earlier post.
Motivation is paramount when it comes to starting a new business. The reason for this is that your motivation will not only define your strategy but also determine your tactics. For example, your decision-making will be drastically different if your primary objective with the new business idea is to set up a business that gives you regular income than if your primary agenda was to create a legacy for your entire family and community.
Similarly, your decisions will be different if you want to bring your new business to a level so that it is purchased by someone else. Understanding your own motivation with respect to your long-term objectives will give you a good idea of how feasible the new business idea is for you.
New Business Idea Q3: Do You See Yourself Working In The Relevant Field For The Rest Of Your Life?
Setting up a new business is a long term commitment. It is comparable to getting married because you’ll probably end up spending as much time running your business as you would with your spouse. Therefore, one of the most important introspective considerations you need to focus on is whether you see yourself working in the field you’ve chosen for the rest of your life.
For instance, every individual has a passion. Some people like food, some health, some mechanics, some chemistry, and some, like yours truly, love writing. So if its health that you’re devoted to, then you would have no problems doing something associated with fitness or nutrition for the rest of your life. Thus, if your new business idea falls in that industry, then you know that it’ll work for you.
New Business Idea Q4: Does The Technology Involved Come To You Naturally?
There aren’t many businesses these days that aren’t dependent on technology in one way or another. Technology, in fact, has become an integral part of the business world. Hence, this is something that you need to evaluate too if you want to figure out if your new business idea will work you.
In simple words, someone who has worked with software all his life can’t suddenly decide to act on a new business idea that revolves are construction or project management. The technology involves is drastically different even if the individual may have experience with Computer Aided Design (CAD).
The trick is to find a new business idea that marries existing expertise and passion into a single product, service, or industry so that you’re already accustomed to the technology involved.
New Business Idea Q5: Is The Idea Automatically Scalable For You?
The thing with any new business is that it needs to be scalable. Whether your new business idea is about baking pies or building ocean liners, it has to be scalable because how much a business has grown is the measure of its success. A business that doesn’t grow and remains identical to how it was, in the beginning, is one step away from failing.
Scalability is relevant in more ways than one. The first is obviously internally i.e. inside your business. You need to know that your new business idea can be converted into a model or system that can build upon itself so that it grows in terms of capability.
The glass through which scalability can be viewed is market viability i.e. outside your business. This is important because if you enter a saturated market, your new business idea will never result in a flourishing business, irrespective of how unique it is.
Scalability can also be viewed as the technical viability of your new business idea. Most budding entrepreneurs, as explained above, don’t consider any of the first four questions and instead jump straight onto this one. This allows them to analyse the feasibility of the new business idea but not its viability in their own lives.
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