Choosing your ideas for a new business

[nicoletiern]

Would you say that to start a business you should look outside to see what is offered or what is needed and make that better? Or is it about choosing the one thing you love to do and find a way to work on that, even if it has a difficult market? I’d go for the latter, but some focus on the first part and are ready to work on pretty much anything, are you?

[The Trade Mark Guy]

Your comments reminded me of a famous business person who set out with the following criterea. Find a product that people need to use, use it, discard it and then require another. The person was Gillette who produced the safety razor blade, but he felt that he failed as it only catered for half of the population (at that time).

[ray_223]

Tough question ... not much information to go on ...

BUT ...

If you don't like the work in the business you want to start then it's unlikely you will succeed.

and

If no one is interested in paying for your product or service it's unlikely you will succeed.

So I guess it's best to choose something where a demand exists and it's something that you at least have a reasonable amount of interest in.

I'd also suggest getting your product or service in front of paying customers as quick as possible. The best way to determine if an idea will work is to try and sell it. The feedback you get from trying to sell it will direct your future (if that means to ditch your idea, change it or add to it).

[Burgo]

What is it that you LOVE to do..............there is your answer.


Anything else is just FOLLY

[george43]

Hi, you should choose a couple of things you like and from those, select the one that is commercially viable. You can't do something you don't like but if you love making something nobody is willing to pay for it's not worth it either.

[Linda Cerzs]

Hi all:
In my opinion the first step in your new business, is making a hard research work in determining the potential of your target market.
Good luck!
Linda Cerz
New York

[SteveDavidson]

I prefer a bit of both - business ideas or products that people will buy, but which I would like to see myself.

[Glenn Wallace]

Whichever way you choose the bottom line is that you need to know if people are going to want what you are offering and if they are willing to pay for it.

To find out what they want you could ask your potential customers. One example is an online survey.

Then offer them what they want and see if they will pay you money for it at a price that is profitable to you.

If they do, organise yourself to provide that service.

If they dont try another idea and repeat.

It is not always practical to do it that way but it gives you some thoughts.

Regards,

Glenn

[beancounter]

Doing what you LOVE is great - but if you love making widgets, and nobody wants to buy widgets, your business won't last long.

We know this because we've seen clients do just that - they developed a hobby, found a few people bought their product, then found that there really was not a demand and their "business" collapsed.

There's other people making money by finding a niche in the market and servicing that niche.

Quite simply, people will make a purchase for one of two reasons - To make a gain, or to ease a pain

As bookkeepers, we find most of our clients do not really WANT to engage a bookkeeper.

Simply put, our clients do not have the time, patience or desire to do the bookwork for their business- they hate doing bookwork. They only get the the bookwork done because the ATO demands quarterly business activity statements.

The day the government stops collecting taxes will be the day when we suddenly find we have no more clients!!

[vstacy]

Originally Posted by beancounter

The day the government stops collecting taxes will be the day when we suddenly find we have no more clients!!

!! :laughing: !! There are three things you can be sure of in life: death, change and taxes... so... yeah... I don't think you'll ever be without clients !!

hahahaha!!!