An idea can be as simple as opening a restaurant in your locality. It can be as complex as creating a new technology company working on innovative technologies, products, apps, and software solutions.
No matter how big or small the idea is, you ultimately have to face the consequences – in terms of (either) success or failure.
The excitement that comes along with the new idea can lead to the foundation of a successful company. However, what counts to the success of the idea that will go all the way long.
You have guessed it right. It is the evaluation of your startup idea. To give a clear picture of how to evaluate your startup idea and take it to the next level, read the article.
Don’t stop in the middle or skim it. Every word counts and you don’t want your startup idea to end up in sheer failure. You don’t want to count yourself in 90% of startups that fail.
Get started here!
1. Are You Passionate About It?
Behind every successful startup, there are a countless number of sleepless nights, failures and disappointments. What keeps you awake at night is passion, and it is the key ingredient in every startup that turns into a million dollar company.
A successful entrepreneur is not only concerned about short-term success or short-term goals. If you are looking forward to taking your idea to the next level, take some time to evaluate and validate your startup idea.
Ask yourself:
- How far can your idea be taken?
- Does your idea solve the problem?
- Can you scale up your idea in future?
- What is the size of your target market?
- How much can a consumer afford to pay?
- Is your passion enough to drive you all the way long?
- Who else is meeting the need?
- How hard it is to implement the idea
The answers to these questions will not only validate the idea but also identify whether you are passionate about it or now.
2. Are You Capable of Doing It?
Your idea is the ignition of inspiration. Do you have the guts to take it all the way long and do the hard work to turn your inspiration into reality? Apart from your desire, do you have the capability to implement it?
For instance, if you are passionate about running your own tour company but don’t have the necessary skills, aptitude, and resources to implement it. How would you justify your idea? Do you think only money can solve the problem? The answer is “No”.
Give some time to evaluate your resources, skills, and experience. Startup ideas are not successful unless you have not evaluated your own capacity.
3. Do You Have the Strength?
Not every student can be good in mathematics, the same goes for a businessperson. Not everyone can run a high tech business or run a local grocery store. While evaluating your new business idea, ask yourself whether it synchronizes with your personal traits or not.
Before you begin, make sure to list down your strengths, skills, and experience. More importantly, find out whether your heart is in it. Can you spend countless hours on the idea without getting bored? If the answer is “Yes”, take the first step. If the answer is “No”, just bring up another idea.
4. What Is the Competition?
An idea can be unique or an improved form of previous ones (offered by competitors). Does your idea matches with someone out there in the market. What is the level of competition? How can you outsmart your competitors?
Analyzing the level of competition, unique product offering and solutions offered to customers are important before your kick-start. Brainstorming your ideas and analyzing competition side by side will prove to be success or failure of your business.
5. Will It Solve the Problem?
The purpose of any business idea or product launch is to solve consumers’ problem. What value do you offer and why would anyone spend money on your product? Think of it and find the value proposition offered by you.
If your business idea does not address the real problem, you might need to scrap it. If you think your idea can be revised and solve the problem, try it. Interviews and surveys can help you find the real problem with the users. You have to present your idea as the best solution to the existing need. Make sure to create a sense of need for the users.
In other words, don’t ask the people what problem they face. As a startup entrepreneur, you have to figure out the untapped problems and their solutions.
6. Test Your Idea around the Problem
After knowing that your idea is going to solve the problem, it is time to test your idea. The testing depends on your unique value proposition and solution. It also depends on the type of product you offer and nature of the business.
The testing can be done through various methods. For instance, you can create a landing page and ask users to test the product and give honest reviews. Moreover, you can also offer the product as a free trial to know how it could be improved or modified in the later version.
7. Will it Make Money?
The biggest and one of the challenging questions is whether your idea is worth enough to make money. Is your idea worth enough to solve the problem of masses who will pay money without thinking twice?
You must ask
- How long will it take to generate profit from your business?
- What type of audience will pay for your product or services
- How long you can bear expenses before the business generates profit.
- Are you able to generate stable profits over time or will it decline
Conclusion
Researching and planning on your idea can help you transform your business into a billion-dollar enterprise. No matter, how worth your idea is, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Many of the startups fail because the initial evaluation and planning were in shambles.
