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Do You Have a Good Big Idea?

Do You Have a Good Big Idea?

Every business concept, no matter how brilliant it seems when bouncing around within your mind, should be put to the test before you devote time and money to its implementation. Success resides not in what you think of your idea, but in what the purchasing audience will think. Many entrepreneurs discover too late that the public’s impression of their concept varies substantially from their own. Wasted time and money aside, the last thing you want to hear is "I told you so!" from your spouse, so take a deep breath, settle down, and let’s look at the methods by which you may evaluate the viability of your concept.

There are various methods to test an idea’s practicality, albeit some approaches are not nearly as successful or accurate as others. Most people start off by asking everyone they know what they think of their big idea. This is an excellent approach to get the wheels spinning since you may receive input that you have not considered previously, but be warned: this is NOT the greatest method to assess the genuine practicality of a concept. Never establish a company based merely on what your friends and family think.


There are two things that will happen here. First, your mother will tell you what you want to hear, and then your closest friends will be nice. No one who genuinely cares for you will want to rain on your parade, no matter how absurd your parade may be, so take the knowledge you receive here with a hug and a grain of salt.

On the other hand, your colleagues and casual friends will probably tell you the opposite of what they truly believe. If they believe your idea stinks, they’ll tell you it’s fantastic, and if they think your concept is amazing, they’ll tell you it stinks. Please don’t preach to me about human goodness. Human compassion is frequently bested by human nature because we humans, by nature, are an envious bunch. We hate to see anybody doing better than we are doing or anyone who has the potential to leave us behind. Go watch the movie "Envy" and think this: why would someone who is poor or locked in dead-end work with no other possibilities want to see you succeed? They wouldn’t. That concludes the story.

Instead of conversing with friends and relatives, you should run your proposal by a number of impartial third parties that are educated about business and will offer you an honest judgment. Contact the local Small Business Administration (SBA) or Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) offices and ask to meet with someone competent who has time to listen to your proposal (don’t run it by the receptionist). Or talk with the small business liaison at the Chamber of Commerce. Or seek out a successful entrepreneur who is ready to listen and offer you an honest evaluation of your concept. Just remember, views are like belly buttons: everyone has one, and they are all different.

A more accurate technique to analyze the viability of a concept is to develop a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. A SWOT analysis will not only help you measure the practicality of your proposal, but also assist you in building on your idea’s strengths, identifying and repairing its flaws, and uncovering methods to take advantage of prospective opportunities while avoiding potential threats.

Here’s how you execute a quick SWOT analysis. On a sheet of paper, draw a vertical line along the middle of the page. Then draw a horizontal line across the middle of the vertical line. The paper is now split into four quadrants. Label the top left quadrant "Strengths." Label the top right quadrant "Weaknesses." Label the bottom left quadrant "Opportunities" and the lower right quadrant "Threats."

Now fill in each quadrant depending on what you view as the strengths, flaws, opportunities, and dangers of your company concept. You should repeat this procedure for every idea you have, and each quadrant should have something in it. If you cannot think of any strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, or threats for a given concept, it suggests that you do not have enough information to complete the SWOT analysis, which means you also do not have enough knowledge to properly execute that idea.

Your strength is the thing that makes your notion a powerful one. Strengths may be personal or product-oriented and may include: past business experience and success; adequate financing to start the firm; having a client in hand; having a distinctive product or service to provide; having an existing market; etc.

Next, identify all of the faults in your concept. It is crucial that you be honest with yourself and mention as many shortcomings as you can. Don’t pretend that your concept doesn’t have any drawbacks, since every idea does. If you assume that your notion is bulletproof, you will injure no one except yourself if you do so. Weaknesses could include: lack of funds to start the firm; lack of business or management expertise; a congested market place; numerous rivals, etc.

Opportunities are things that you can use to accelerate the development of your business concept.We’ve spoken about possibilities previously and how savvy entrepreneurs seek out new chances rather than waiting for opportunities to come to them. Opportunities may include: a prospective relationship with someone who provides items in the same market; a premium storefront site that is becoming available; a rival going out of business, creating a vacuum in the market that may be perfect for you; etc.

Threats are those factors that jeopardize the success of your company concept. Threats can include: unpredictable marketplace circumstances; strong rivals in the market with cheaper pricing; prospective regulations or levies that may damage your innovation; etc. Like vulnerabilities, it is crucial that you remain honest when it comes to assessing dangers.

Once you have filled in all four quadrants, you should have enough information to begin evaluating the practicality of your proposal. Do the qualities of your concept exceed the problems, or do the weaknesses outweigh the strengths? Are the possibilities accessible to you abundant or nonexistent? Are the dangers numerous or few?

With this information in hand, you can go on to the most accurate approach to testing your concept, and that is the preparation of a complete feasibility plan, which we will explore next time.

Here’s to your success!

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