Now, you probably already have a business idea in mind … but are still a bit uncertain and overwhelmed with how to best act on it.
No worries, as this is totally normal. One idea frequently leads to a bunch of new ideas - and even more questions to go with them. With all of these ideas in the back of your mind, it could feel like you’re stuck in a zone where there’s just so much to do, but you don’t know how (or where) to start.
So, here are the five things you need to do to make the most out of your business idea:
Go back to your core business idea, establish your mission and vision, and work from there
One thing at a time. You don’t have to do everything all at once
Define your target market
Research your market
Establish your competitive advantage
Let’s discuss them more in-depth:
Go back to your core business idea, establish your mission and vision, and work from there
Every business starts with a very simple product or service, or better yet, a core statement that serves as a guide in helping them improve their business’s value. The business can then keep going back to these foundational pieces to better determine all that it wants to offer.
You can do the same by asking yourself these guiding questions:
What does my business do, and how would my business do it? (Mission)
What does my business want to be in the future? Who do we want to help? (Vision)
One thing at a time. You don’t have to do everything all at once.
Now that you’re finally more grounded with what you’re doing; it’s time to turn the idea into reality. This could be considered the “hard part” of your new venture.
At this point, you would want to start outlining plans and strategies to better grasp what you’re going to do next. We recommend that you list all of the things you need to do, prioritize them accordingly, and then just focus on one thing at a time.
This focus allows you to give your 100% attention to the task at hand. This will also provide you with more peace of mind by not having to think about the stockpile of action items you need to do.
Remember, progress is progress, and 1% of work is better than nothing!
Define your target market
There’s a popular saying in marketing that if you’re selling to everybody, you’re selling to noone. This saying highlights the importance of a target market. While we might just want to make a sale and think it doesn’t matter who buys it, it’s a crucial step to determine who exactly we want to be selling to.
Think of your target market as the customer you imagine would be interested in (and benefit from) your product. He (or she) is the one you want to sell your products/services to - because they are the ones gaining the most from buying it. Now, you have the responsibility to define them, who they are, how they behave, and what their interests are.
To help you define your target market, here are the industry-standard descriptors:
Geographic (Where does your target customer live?)
Psycho-graphic (What’s their attitude like?)
Demographic (What’s their age?)
Behavioral (How do they use your product?)
This discussion is just a gist of the target market, and it’s very important that you include this in your plans, as it will determine how you’ll get your first customers (and the one following)!
Research your market.
Once you’ve got your good business idea and you’ve been able to define your target market, the next step is to learn more about your market/industry. This step will help you eliminate blind spots and gain more authority around your business right from the start.
You can start by using the most powerful information sourcing tool – Google. Start searching how big your industry is, look for any best practices you can implement in your own business, who are your competitors, and find out how a business in that specific industry succeeds.
Understanding your market helps you set realistic goals and expectations and will help you gauge how much work you need to do to carry out your business, little by little.
And remember what they say: Failing to plan is planning to fail - and research is very important in planning!
Establish your competitive advantage.
The most important part is knowing how your product or service differs from the rest of the competition.
All businesses in an industry can essentially do the same thing, but what makes people prefer one over the other?
That’s where your “secret recipe” comes in, more formally known as your competitive advantage.
Your secret recipe depends on how you want to brand your business and what it wants to be known for. It is also based on what you have and can offer to your customers.
Some ideas of competitive advantages are:
Having special equipment that can maintain quality while becoming more efficient (speed)
Becoming on-demand and ready anytime a customer wants/needs your product/service (convenience)
Providing an extraordinary experience that keeps your customers coming back to you (excellent customer service)
Having the product or service with the best quality versus industry standard (quality)
These are just a few ideas of competitive advantages that you can focus on in your business. Excellent execution will ensure that your business experiences successful branding and growth.
Moving forward
Those are the five essential steps you need to employ to ensure that your business idea is on the right track. Remember, there is no linear path to business success, but you can’t go wrong with these tried-and-true tips!