Developing a Business Idea- Where to start

 Where to start

 

When you think you have an idea for a business it can be hard to know where to go from here. Some people develop a business idea over night, some people think about and develop a business idea over time. There are three stages that all ideas will go through, these are;

 

• The Discovery stage, in this stage you will have spotted an opportunity, a "gap" in the market
• The Planning stage follows- looking at the implementation of an idea
• The Launch stage- including growing and sustaining a business

This blog post will look at the discovery stage in a little more detail, as this is the starting point for all business ideas.

 

 

 

There are two approaches that can be taken to develop an idea the "Inside Out" approach and the "Outside In"

 

 

Inside Out

• Problem solving
• Skills and expertise
• Good communication
• Collaboration
• Dealing with limited information
• Team Player

 

Outside In

•  Market trends
• Changes in technology
• Friends and Family
• Things that annoy you
• Social trends
• Political Trends

A Good Idea

 

A good idea will have three interlinked characteristics, viability, feasibility and desirability

 

 

 

 

Desirability

• what someone wants and will pay for
• something that solves a problem
• provides a customer gain
• something they don't know they need yet. provides a "nudge"
• solve it well and customers will pay a premium for it

Feasibility

 

• technically and operationally possible
• Someone who wants it can get their hands on it

Viability

 

• what can you do financially?
• is there a revenue stream to be made from it?
• Can you afford to implement it?

All this might sound like it requires a great deal of work...don't let it put you off and join us next time where we will look at Design thinking for all things new