Everyone at one time or another has had an idea for what they thought would make a great business, however only a very small few ever end up turning this idea into reality. So what then are the most important bits of turning your idea into a viable business?

What’s the Plan?

Without going into the nitty gritty of business plans, the point here is that even though they are boring, hard to do, and take forever, a business plan is a crucial first step to success and entirely relevant. Skipping doing a business plan is stupid because it flirts with failure where there is no need.

Research, Research and a little more Research.

This is another bit that people sometimes stupidly leave out. You may think that you have reinvented the wheel but will anyone buy this fabulous new product? The best ideas unfortunately don’t always equate to the best businesses and often its just a slightly different slant on already proven concept that works best. Experience, costs, customer needs, competitors, delivery times, importers, distribution and compliance, these are the sometimes unforeseen factors can make or break whether your business baby.

Talk to as many people in the know as you can, potential customers, industry experts and businesses that already deal with your target market are all ideal sources of information. Carry out detailed surveys, post on blogs and business forums in order to get as much advice as you can and don’t panic if you get negative responses rather take the advice on board and continue to refine your idea till it works. Here is a useful article that deals with researching your business concept.

S.W.O.T. on it

No, I’m talking about hitting the books here but rather where you identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your potential business. Click for Free SWOT pdf template. Run one on you, the business, partners, competitors, markets and products and make sure to write it down.

Knowing your weaknesses at this stage is often the most valuable piece of information you can have because you will have identified where you may need future help and where failure is more lightly to rear its ugly head. For the cocky buggars among us, remember thinking you have no weaknesses is in fact the biggest weakness of all.

U.S.P. : Unique Selling Proposition, What is it?

So this bit should be easy, right! What makes you and your product different from the competitors?. Remember, It doesn’t necessarily have to make people gasp at the though but it should be unique and most importantly it’s got to be something that your potential customers will want to buy.

This will be the most readily piece of info to grab the attention of prospective customers. Think of your USP as your soldiers in the trench, your first line of attack and the stick you use to beat your competitors.

Marketing, How are you going to get your Message Out There?

Ok so now you got to figure out how you are going to get your message to potential buyers. There are 101 ways to do this but which one is right for you. Obviously budget dictates to large extent and while some forms of marketing cost a lot and others don’t cost a penny, cost will not always be an good indicator of value particularly when it comes to a non science such as marketing.

For the majority of first time entrepreneurs, marketing simply means getting out there and meeting lots of prospects so having some presentation and selling skills will make a big difference.

How Deep are Your Pockets

The amount of money you have to spend while not the bee all and end all is pretty still darn important, in others word, the more the merrier. What is absolutely crucially critically more important however is how wisely you spent it. For now your focus should be about promoting and marketing your new business and products so as to generate as many sales as it possible. A swanky new laptop, top-notch furniture and an office in a nice part of town can wait till after you have made your first million.

And finally make the Jump.

This is often the biggest obstacle, the fear of the unknown, the leaving a good job, the mortgage repayments. Its time to stop thinking and start doing. There will never be a perfect time or the perfect launch so sooner rather than later you just gotta trust in yourself and jump.

Posted by Niall

Tags: business plan, business planning, business start up, business startup, Entrepreneurs, start business, starting a business

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 at 3:19 pm and is filed under Entrepreneurs, Startups. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.