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Actual for You - How Good Is Your Big Idea
After years of running various small businesses I have finally come to conclude that people are bad for your profits! What made me arrive at this conclusion? Well obviously it’s a very broad statement & people are not always bad for profits. Of course they are not, as many businesses make all their money by selling to the end consumer. But I believe there are better ways for people looking to set up a small profitable business than dealing direct with customers to make their money.When considering about 50% of small businesses fail within the first year you need to make your business as smooth & efficient as possible. Especially if there are only a few employees or you are the only employee.This is where people are bad for your profits. Dealing directly with the customer in order to close a sale & then thereafter support the customer i
Strengths are those things that make your idea a strong one. Strengths can be personal or product-oriented and may include: prior business experience and success; sufficient funding to start the business; having a customer in hand; having a unique product or service to offer; having an established market; etc.
Next list all of the weaknesses of your idea. It is important that you are honest with yourself and list as many weaknesses as you can. Don’t pretend that your idea doesn’t have any weaknesses because every idea does. You will hurt no one but yourself if you pretend that your idea is bulletproof. Weaknesses might include: lack of capital to start the business; lack of business or management experience; a crowded market place; large competitors; etc.
Opportunities are those things that you can tap into that might fast track your business idea. We’ve talked about opportunities before and how smart entrepreneurs seek out new opportunities rather than waiting for opportunities to come to them. Opportunities might include: a potential partnership with someo
In today's business and economy, is there a risk in being self employed? Absolutely! Is there a greater benefit (financially) in being self employed? Absolutely! The fact is that nothing worth fighting for is risk free and being self employed is the only true way to become financially free. If you are satisfied with your "lot in life" then find another article to read. If you want to know what it takes to become successful in life, then read on.Most countries are based on Free Enterprise, yet this simple concept seems to be generally lost. Since the industrial revolution where more and more people were needed to build the countries infrastructure, jobs have become a replacement for free enterprise. You see, some entrepreneurs got greedy and decided to brain wash potential entrepreneurs into thinking that there is "security" i
A: Heather, I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but your husband is right (first time for everything, huh): before you just pick a business idea and go for it you should test the feasibility of your ideas to make sure they really are as good as you think they are.
Every business idea, no matter how good it sounds while bouncing around inside your head, should be put to the test before you invest time and money into its execution. Success lies not in what you think of your idea, but what the buying public will think. Many entrepreneurs find out too late that the public’s opinion of their idea differs greatly from their own. Wasted time and money aside, the last thing you want to do is hear “I told you so!” from your husband, so take a deep breath, slow down, and let’s look at the ways you can test the feasibility of your idea.
There are many ways to test an idea’s feasibility, though some ways are not nearly as effective or accurate than others. Most people start out by asking everyone they know what they think of their big idea. This is a good way to start the wheels turning because you may get feedback that you have not considered before, but be warned: this is NOT the best way to test the true feasibility of an idea. Never start a business simply based 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 your best friends will be equally kind. No one who really cares for you will want to rain on your parade no matter how insane your parade might be, so take the wisdom you gain here with a hug and a grain of salt.
On the flip side, your coworkers and casual acquaintances will probably tell you the opposite of what they really think. If they think your idea stinks they’ll tell you it’s great and if they think your idea is great they’ll tell you it stinks. Please don’t preach to me about human kindness. Human kindness is often bested by human nature and we humans, by nature, are an envious lot. We hate to see anyone doing better than we are doing and we hate to see anyone who has the potential to leave us behind. Go watch the movie “Envy” and consider this: why would someone who is broke or stuck in dead-end job with no other prospects want to see you succeed? They wouldn’t. End of story.
Instead of conferring with friends and family you should run your idea past a number of neutral third parties who are knowledgeable about business and will give you an honest opinion. Contact the local Small Business Administration (SBA) or The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) offices and ask to speak with someone knowledgeable who has time to listen to your idea (don’t run it past the receptionist). Or speak with the small business liaison at the Chamber of Commerce. Or seek out a successful entrepreneur who is willing to listen and give you an honest opinion about your idea. Just remember, opinions are like belly buttons: everybody has one and they are all different.
A more accurate way to judge the feasibility of an idea is to create a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. A SWOT analysis will not only help you gauge the feasibility of your idea, but also help you build on your idea’s strengths, identify and correct the weaknesses, and spot ways to take advantage of potential opportunities while avoiding potential threats.
Here’s how to perform a simple SWOT Analysis. On a piece of paper draw a vertical line down the center of the page. Then draw a horizontal line through the center of the vertical line. The paper is now divided into four quadrants. Label the upper left quadrant “Strengths.” Label the upper right quadrant “Weaknesses.” Label the lower left quadrant “Opportunities” and the lower right quadrant “Threats.”
Now fill in each quadrant based on what you see as the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your business idea. You should repeat this process for every idea you have and each quadrant should have something written in. If you can think of no strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for a particular idea, that means that you do not have enough information to complete the SWOT analysis, which means you also do not have enough information to effectively execute that idea.
Strengths are those things that make your idea a strong one. Strengths can be personal or product-oriented and may include: prior business experience and success; sufficient funding to start the business; having a customer in hand; having a unique product or service to offer; having an established market; etc.
Next list all of the weaknesses of your idea. It is important that you are honest with yourself and list as many weaknesses as you can. Don’t pretend that your idea doesn’t have any weaknesses because every idea does. You will hurt no one but yourself if you pretend that your idea is bulletproof. Weaknesses might include: lack of capital to start the business; lack of business or management experience; a crowded market place; large competitors; etc.
Opportunities are those things that you can tap into that might fast track your business idea. We’ve talked about opportunities before and how smart entrepreneurs seek out new opportunities rather than waiting for opportunities to come to them. Opportunities might include: a potential partnership with someon
Businesses nowadays are now aware of the power of the internet. Who would think decades ago that Yahoo, Google, Ebay or Amazon will became large corporations today? Twenty years ago no one would imagine that this would happen. Now even here in the Philippines there are some online entrepreneur from rags to riches made his way to success. So what is the most important thing to start a business? Is setting up a brick and mortar (this is a physical business like a grocery store for example ) comparable to an online business? It has similarities in some ways like both sell products or services. But the big difference for both to succeed is:Brick and Mortar -> Need Good LocationOnline Business -> Need Good InformationWhy did I say that? simple. A brick and mortar business should have a good location, for example, in a place where many p
There are many ways to test an idea’s feasibility, though some ways are not nearly as effective or accurate than others. Most people start out by asking everyone they know what they think of their big idea. This is a good way to start the wheels turning because you may get feedback that you have not considered before, but be warned: this is NOT the best way to test the true feasibility of an idea. Never start a business simply based 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 your best friends will be equally kind. No one who really cares for you will want to rain on your parade no matter how insane your parade might be, so take the wisdom you gain here with a hug and a grain of salt.
On the flip side, your coworkers and casual acquaintances will probably tell you the opposite of what they really think. If they think your idea stinks they’ll tell you it’s great and if they think your idea is great they’ll tell you it stinks. Please don’t preach to me about human kindness. Human kindness is often bested by human nature and we humans, by nature, are an envious lot. We hate to see anyone doing better than we are doing and we hate to see anyone who has the potential to leave us behind. Go watch the movie “Envy” and consider this: why would someone who is broke or stuck in dead-end job with no other prospects want to see you succeed? They wouldn’t. End of story.
Instead of conferring with friends and family you should run your idea past a number of neutral third parties who are knowledgeable about business and will give you an honest opinion. Contact the local Small Business Administration (SBA) or The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) offices and ask to speak with someone knowledgeable who has time to listen to your idea (don’t run it past the receptionist). Or speak with the small business liaison at the Chamber of Commerce. Or seek out a successful entrepreneur who is willing to listen and give you an honest opinion about your idea. Just remember, opinions are like belly buttons: everybody has one and they are all different.
A more accurate way to judge the feasibility of an idea is to create a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. A SWOT analysis will not only help you gauge the feasibility of your idea, but also help you build on your idea’s strengths, identify and correct the weaknesses, and spot ways to take advantage of potential opportunities while avoiding potential threats.
Here’s how to perform a simple SWOT Analysis. On a piece of paper draw a vertical line down the center of the page. Then draw a horizontal line through the center of the vertical line. The paper is now divided into four quadrants. Label the upper left quadrant “Strengths.” Label the upper right quadrant “Weaknesses.” Label the lower left quadrant “Opportunities” and the lower right quadrant “Threats.”
Now fill in each quadrant based on what you see as the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your business idea. You should repeat this process for every idea you have and each quadrant should have something written in. If you can think of no strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for a particular idea, that means that you do not have enough information to complete the SWOT analysis, which means you also do not have enough information to effectively execute that idea.
Strengths are those things that make your idea a strong one. Strengths can be personal or product-oriented and may include: prior business experience and success; sufficient funding to start the business; having a customer in hand; having a unique product or service to offer; having an established market; etc.
Next list all of the weaknesses of your idea. It is important that you are honest with yourself and list as many weaknesses as you can. Don’t pretend that your idea doesn’t have any weaknesses because every idea does. You will hurt no one but yourself if you pretend that your idea is bulletproof. Weaknesses might include: lack of capital to start the business; lack of business or management experience; a crowded market place; large competitors; etc.
Opportunities are those things that you can tap into that might fast track your business idea. We’ve talked about opportunities before and how smart entrepreneurs seek out new opportunities rather than waiting for opportunities to come to them. Opportunities might include: a potential partnership with someo
First of all, to fully understand and appreciate the answer, a couple of givens must be taken into account. What I believe to be the most important item for dealing with an interview successfully is, your attitude. Your attitude determines the outcome of every interview. The core competencies must be there in order for you to get the interview in the first place but, your attitude during the interview will be what ultimately gets you accepted or rejected for the position. If it was as simple as, "I can do the job", there would be no need for an interview in the first place - the employer would just hire based upon the resume.Now that we have determined that attitude will determine the success of the interview, lets more deeply understand the answer to the question. Unequivocally, without a doubt, the best day to interview is not Monday, it
Instead of conferring with friends and family you should run your idea past a number of neutral third parties who are knowledgeable about business and will give you an honest opinion. Contact the local Small Business Administration (SBA) or The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) offices and ask to speak with someone knowledgeable who has time to listen to your idea (don’t run it past the receptionist). Or speak with the small business liaison at the Chamber of Commerce. Or seek out a successful entrepreneur who is willing to listen and give you an honest opinion about your idea. Just remember, opinions are like belly buttons: everybody has one and they are all different.
A more accurate way to judge the feasibility of an idea is to create a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. A SWOT analysis will not only help you gauge the feasibility of your idea, but also help you build on your idea’s strengths, identify and correct the weaknesses, and spot ways to take advantage of potential opportunities while avoiding potential threats.
Here’s how to perform a simple SWOT Analysis. On a piece of paper draw a vertical line down the center of the page. Then draw a horizontal line through the center of the vertical line. The paper is now divided into four quadrants. Label the upper left quadrant “Strengths.” Label the upper right quadrant “Weaknesses.” Label the lower left quadrant “Opportunities” and the lower right quadrant “Threats.”
Now fill in each quadrant based on what you see as the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your business idea. You should repeat this process for every idea you have and each quadrant should have something written in. If you can think of no strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for a particular idea, that means that you do not have enough information to complete the SWOT analysis, which means you also do not have enough information to effectively execute that idea.
Strengths are those things that make your idea a strong one. Strengths can be personal or product-oriented and may include: prior business experience and success; sufficient funding to start the business; having a customer in hand; having a unique product or service to offer; having an established market; etc.
Next list all of the weaknesses of your idea. It is important that you are honest with yourself and list as many weaknesses as you can. Don’t pretend that your idea doesn’t have any weaknesses because every idea does. You will hurt no one but yourself if you pretend that your idea is bulletproof. Weaknesses might include: lack of capital to start the business; lack of business or management experience; a crowded market place; large competitors; etc.
Opportunities are those things that you can tap into that might fast track your business idea. We’ve talked about opportunities before and how smart entrepreneurs seek out new opportunities rather than waiting for opportunities to come to them. Opportunities might include: a potential partnership with someo
Professional career is often tackles with one issue that how to write a cover letter that advertises their proficient talent. Professionals of any sectors are always being an icon of knowledge. The fact is that very nature of resume goes about showing off their ability in writing by means of outlining the niche words in the content of the cover letter and then in CV. Not every one is eloquent with key big words. So the stages in how to write a cover letter involve being formal & creative. One with good writing skills knows that how to play with words. Using non relevant words in a cover letter will not only hold back the recruiter understanding but also waste its time. How to write a cover letter can thus be learned. All jobseekers experience the period of learning how to write a cover letter.While writing a CV, always be specific. You've got to
Here’s how to perform a simple SWOT Analysis. On a piece of paper draw a vertical line down the center of the page. Then draw a horizontal line through the center of the vertical line. The paper is now divided into four quadrants. Label the upper left quadrant “Strengths.” Label the upper right quadrant “Weaknesses.” Label the lower left quadrant “Opportunities” and the lower right quadrant “Threats.”
Now fill in each quadrant based on what you see as the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your business idea. You should repeat this process for every idea you have and each quadrant should have something written in. If you can think of no strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for a particular idea, that means that you do not have enough information to complete the SWOT analysis, which means you also do not have enough information to effectively execute that idea.
Strengths are those things that make your idea a strong one. Strengths can be personal or product-oriented and may include: prior business experience and success; sufficient funding to start the business; having a customer in hand; having a unique product or service to offer; having an established market; etc.
Next list all of the weaknesses of your idea. It is important that you are honest with yourself and list as many weaknesses as you can. Don’t pretend that your idea doesn’t have any weaknesses because every idea does. You will hurt no one but yourself if you pretend that your idea is bulletproof. Weaknesses might include: lack of capital to start the business; lack of business or management experience; a crowded market place; large competitors; etc.
Opportunities are those things that you can tap into that might fast track your business idea. We’ve talked about opportunities before and how smart entrepreneurs seek out new opportunities rather than waiting for opportunities to come to them. Opportunities might include: a potential partnership with someo
Working from home sounds like a great option doesn’t it? Certainly, you can read many articles on the Internet extolling the virtues of working from home and probably wish you could park your car in your garage and start telecommuting right away!I’ve worked from home for close to two years now and absolutely love it.This article will not list the benefits of working from home. Anyone can quickly figure out on their own that having no commute, no office politics, flexible work hours and closer proximity to your family are just four possible benefits that are achievable when you work at home.You can figure out the benefits of working from home that are important to you without me telling you.What I believe is more beneficial is a brief discussion of what you need to consider before thinking about setting up a home office and w
Strengths are those things that make your idea a strong one. Strengths can be personal or product-oriented and may include: prior business experience and success; sufficient funding to start the business; having a customer in hand; having a unique product or service to offer; having an established market; etc.
Next list all of the weaknesses of your idea. It is important that you are honest with yourself and list as many weaknesses as you can. Don’t pretend that your idea doesn’t have any weaknesses because every idea does. You will hurt no one but yourself if you pretend that your idea is bulletproof. Weaknesses might include: lack of capital to start the business; lack of business or management experience; a crowded market place; large competitors; etc.
Opportunities are those things that you can tap into that might fast track your business idea. We’ve talked about opportunities before and how smart entrepreneurs seek out new opportunities rather than waiting for opportunities to come to them. Opportunities might include: a potential partnership with someone who sells products in the same market; a prime storefront location that is coming available; a competitor going out of business, leaving a hole in the market that may be right for you; etc.
Threats are those things that threaten the success of your business idea. Threats might include: uncertain marketplace conditions; strong competitors in the market with lower prices; possible laws or taxes that may impact your idea; etc. Like weaknesses, it is vital that you are honest when it comes to identifying threats.
Once you have filled in all four quadrants, you should have enough information to begin testing the feasibility of your idea. Do the strengths of your idea outweigh the weaknesses or do the weaknesses outweigh the strengths? Are the opportunities available to you ample or nonexistent? Are the threats many or few?
With this information in hand, you can move on to the most accurate method of testing your idea and that is the creation of a detailed feasibility plan, which we will discuss next time.
Here’s to your success!
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