If you are an aspiring entrepreneur who has the “idea” to start a venture, you must understand the lingering phase following that “ah-ha” moment. Right? Sometimes it takes even months to transform your idea from a series of sticky notes. But then your enthusiasm suddenly fades away!
Why? Because you have no idea how to put that “idea” on the shelf of a local store or a digital app store. Well! Everyone faces such stalling during their initial stages. But that’s a discussion for another time.
You are here to see whether your “eureka” moment is worth building or not, isn’t it? So, if you want to validate your idea and prove that it has some worth beyond those scribbles, here’s what you must do.
Look for existing product/ service
Before you start doing everything from scratch and get yourself wrapped up in finding ideas regarding how to start a business, you must do thorough research. The research must be around products that are already on the market.
If there is, don’t get disheartened. You must see whether you can improve the current offering. For instance, can you offer better value than the business already providing it? Or whether your market will be satisfied? If the answer is “yes,” move onto the next step.
Talk to others about your idea
You must always seek feedback. You must share your ideas with people you can trust. Remember, you must find people who can give you honest feedback. Don’t be in a bubble where your concept will always work. But if even one person says it’s a good idea, it will be worth moving on to the next step.
Develop a minimal viable product
If you find some support for your idea, you must determine whether there is any usage of your product before going all in. So, trigger your inner “MacGyver” and create a working prototype so that you can find whether your product is perfect. If you or your friends or colleagues can’t use this, scrap the idea right there. On the contrary, if the outcome is positive, move onto the next step.
Create a business proposal and customer acquisition plan
Once you are sure you have the right idea, you focus on two questions:
- Do I have a market?
- How will I get my first customer?
- How will I get my nth customer?
Then depending on the answers, start drafting a business proposal and pitch deck to attract investors to fund your idea. In that, you must include your customer-acquisition plan and strategies to explain to others “why your idea will rock?”
Remember, it’s easier to start, but if you want to survive, you must learn about all the aspects of running a business.
Final Words
If everything is in line and you think you have some winning idea, start building your brand right away! In today’s tech-savvy world, even a validated idea can get knocked off quickly. So, don’t procrastinate and start creating a hold in the market right away!
