How To Come Up With A Business Idea

So, you’d like to start a business but don’t yet know what form it will take or whether it will be successful. Either way, you can’t wait to get started. All you need is the big idea—one that could take you to where the famous ‘garage entrepreneurs’ found themselves: Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft. Here, we’ll share some pointers on how to come up with a business idea, plus what you’ll need to do to get it off the ground.

When it comes to business ideas, preparation matters

Coming up with a business idea takes time. You might have a Eureka moment, but without refining your idea, you could end up with something that sounds great on paper but doesn’t work in practice.

Around 60% of small business fail to hit the 5 year mark, but don’t let that dishearten you. The majority fail because their business idea and plan have been halfheartedly put together, rather than getting expert advice. However, you’d be amazed at how far solid preparation and due diligence can take you.

In our recent ultimate guide to starting a business, we discuss how you can give you business the best chance for long term survival.

How To Do Market Research for a Business Idea

At this point you’ve probably got a rough idea of the type of business you want to start, something based on your skills, expertise, or an area where you believe you can make a difference for customers. Maybe a frustrating personal experience with a product or service inspired you to bring a better solution to the market. Funny enough, that’s exactly how we got started!

That’s a great starting point. However, it’s only a vague notion of a product or service, but now you can start thinking and learning more about it. When researching, think about the following questions carefully:

• Who would buy this product and why?
• Where do they buy it?
• What do they like or dislike about the existing products on the market?
• What would they really like from a product that just isn’t available?

Get customer insight

Comments from customers is really useful info if you can find it. You can find customer insights on review sites like Trustpilot or on retailers’ sites. Some manufacturers might post customer feedback on their websites. There are also forums where members ask other members questions about products and services or post their own opinions. Social media sites like Facebook also carry comments from customers.

Now you’re getting deeper insight into what your potential customers like or hate about existing products and that can be valuable in shaping your business idea. How could you make a difference to those customers by developing a product that matches their wish list or overcomes their frustrations?

Are they looking for better quality? Would they prefer to get the product in different pack sizes? Are they looking for a simpler product that is more affordable? Do they wish the product had a few more features that they would find really useful? Would they prefer to buy it online rather than search for a local retailer, or would they rather buy from a store where they can see and inspect the product?

Refine your list of business ideas

When you’ve carried your research, you’ll find you’ve got a list of possibilities for your business idea/s. You may have a long list, but it’s no longer a question of waiting for inspiration. You’re now customer focused – what are people looking for and what can you do to meet their demands?

By comparing customer wish lists with your knowledge of what existing suppliers provide you can start to spot gaps that you have the opportunity to fill. However, a good idea is one thing, a successful business is a whole other whole other kettle of fish.

Ultimately, you need to come up with a successful business, not just a business idea.

Think practicalities

So, it’s time for a personal review. What can you bring to your potential business? Maybe you’re an expert on this type of product, or you’ve had relevant sales or marketing experience so you understand the market. Will you need to hire other people with skills or knowledge that you don’t have?

If you’re going to supply a product, have you got product development or manufacturing skills? If not, you could consider using contract manufacturers or licensing an existing product customised to your own specifications.

You need to think about distribution. If you’re planning to sell from a website, how will you deliver orders and what sort of delivery options could you offer? If you’re thinking about selling through retailers, how will you convince them to stock your product and how will you

Then, funding. Will the business need significant investment to get off the ground or is it a low-cost start-up opportunity? Either way you will need to access funding; so are you confident you can convince lenders or investors to back your business idea?

Finally, is this a business idea with legs — can it grow or is it just a short-term, one-off opportunity? Unless you’re just filling in between jobs or wanting to earn some side hustle extra cash, you should be thinking longer term.

Raise your profile

You’re moving towards business reality now. The next step is to evaluate all those business ideas and bring the long list down to a few strong contenders. What’s the level of risk for each idea? Has one idea got outstanding plus factors from the customer’s perspective and is it sufficiently different from any existing product to give you a sustainable competitive advantage?

Before you take the plunge, there’s one more important step – make yourself known. Right now, nobody knows you, so it’s time to raise your profile. Social media is a great place to start. Find a page or forum where people are discussing a competitor’s product and add your own comments to the discussion. By making regular postings, you could soon be seen as an expert, people will recognise you and could start asking what you have to offer. distribute the products to them

To meet potential enquiries, set up a simple website landing page where you show information about your product or business idea. You may not have a live product at this stage, although a prototype would be useful, but the level of response can help you decide whether your product is generating interest. Demonstrating your product or business idea at local trade shows or talking to retailers can also help gauge interest and take the decision to go ahead with the business.

So, how do you come up with a business idea?

Coming up with a business idea isn’t as complicated as it seems. At its core, it boils down to two key questions:

• What are you good at?
• What are you passionate about?

That’s it. For example, you might have noticed a shortage of taxi drivers in your town. But if you don’t enjoy driving and you’re not great at it, it’s unlikely to work out, unless you have the cash to hire drivers to do it for you.

Setting up your business and preparing to launch your product is outside the scope of this article, which is why we’ve created an in-depth step-by-step guide to starting a business.

Got an idea and name already? Great! Speak to our experts to get your business started today.