Isn’t the period of fantasizing about establishing a business the best? It has a lot of potentials. Nothing has gone wrong, anything is conceivable, and you will undoubtedly be a huge success. When it comes to actually launch, though, many people overlook one important step. It has the potential to make the difference between success and failure. It’s the process of testing your business idea before you launch it.
In a word, validating your idea is putting in the effort to ensure that you have the correct market, price, and model in place to provide your product/service efficiently and profitably. Without it, one of three eventualities is likely to occur:
It’s difficult not to simply go for it and figure it out as you go when you’re passionate about starting a business. Without the appropriate attitude, even the best ideas can fail horribly. And failure can lead you to abandon a concept that, with a few adjustments, could be fantastic.
So let’s get started validating your concept! Here are five questions to ask yourself while determining whether your idea is realistic and whether starting a business is good for you.
Have you ever had a brilliant idea only to discover that it has already been implemented? I’m sure I have! It’s demoralizing at first, but if you think about it, it means the concept works – which is partial validation.
Being a “first mover” is exciting, but it generally entails a more difficult and longer route to success – and the risk of being overtaken by others.
So embrace the rivalry. It doesn’t imply it won’t work just because someone else has done it before you. It just means you must find your own method of doing things. You can also expand on the work that previous businesses in your industry have already accomplished.
In an episode of the comedy “How I Met Your Mother,” one of the characters is attempting to sell her paintings but is having significant difficulty. She finally sells a painting, only to discover that the client only wanted the frame, which they kept and threw away the painting. When her husband goes to get it, he discovers that a veterinarian has plucked it out of the trash. The animals seem to enjoy her paintings, and the veterinarian has asked her to paint several more for his office.
Okay, that was a made-up story that is unlikely to occur in real life, but the concept is still valid. Until you locate the appropriate personnel for your company, you will struggle (or market). They’re out there if the concept is good. If it’s a product or service that currently exists, you may need to get creative and build a niche.
Could you figure it out on the fly? Sure. If you’re still on the fence about starting a business, this information could help you make your endeavour more profitable in less time.
Another crucial consideration is how and where your product or service will be distributed. Will you sell on the internet? Locally? Do you sell your product or service to other businesses or to the general public? Will you sell wholesale or work with affiliates/partners?
Your business strategy must be appropriate for your target market. If your audience is older and less tech-savvy, an app might not be the best option. If your target market is normally frugal, you’ll need to change how you deliver your service or the attributes of your product to be able to provide a lower-cost option.
It’s tempting to undercut the competition and simply be the cheapest. However, this is often the start of the end, as making a profit for the amount of work you’ll be doing will be difficult. Your time is valuable, and if you’re trading it for money and not getting much in return, you’re not actually running a business – you’re working.
We understand that most individuals are put off by numbers. However, there is no way to avoid considering everything you’ll need to run your company and deciding pricing that makes sense in the long run.
And if your customers or clients refuse to pay the prices you need to generate a respectable profit, that notion may be doomed. It’s crucial to remember that you’re performing valuable work and have every right to compensate yourself fairly for your efforts. Business is a game of profit.
Put your product/service to the test if you believe you have the appropriate product/service at the right pricing and can deliver it efficiently and profitably to the right market. At the end of the day, you may conduct the research and crunch the statistics and be 99 percent confident that it will work, but you have to pay for it.
When a stranger (or, better still, a group of strangers) purchases your product or service, you might be onto something.
There are ways to test your idea without investing a lot of money if you’re a cautious person. Try a beta launch, Go for MVP.
Only a small percentage of people hit the jackpot on their first try. The more you go through this process with your idea (and even your business once it’s up and running! ), the better at spotting a winner you’ll become.
Which of these steps have you accomplished already? Please tell us in the comments!
Last but not least, if you are an entrepreneur and you are considering developing an application or a website, spare yourself the bother and contact us at TheCodeWork. We’re an MVP/product development firm with clients all over the world. I am confident that we will be able to assist you!
