When launching a new business, having a killer idea is the first important step, but this is only the beginning of the journey. Knowing where to go next and how to navigate the process can seem daunting, especially as starting a business is always a risk.
Whoever you are and your level of experience, determining if you have a viable idea and taking the plunge into entrepreneurship is a challenge. When my co-founder and I decided to launch our company; JJ Suspenders, we navigated these same challenges ourselves and discovered that there are some key factors and considerations that are universal.
Ask the Right Questions
Defining whether or not your idea has the traction to succeed in your chosen market is key to determining if your killer concept is just a great idea, or in fact, a great opportunity. Before launching a semi-realized idea, it is crucial to nail down the core elements that will inform your journey.
What is your mission? A product or service should provide a solution that the relevant market is in need of. How are you improving your potential customer’s lives, how do you intend to do this differently, and better than the competitors already operating in the market?
Who are your ideal customers in terms of demographics, and location? How do you intend to reach them, and what platform will you use for sales and marketing?
Once you have answered these first vital questions, you have begun to design your business plan.
Test the Market
Before my co-founder and I got submerged in the finer details, such as logo design, and setting up our website, we realized it was more important to test out the validity of our idea in the market. The best way to do this is via actual sales.
If you are considering launching a new product, begin with a small line of prototypes you can place in the market to measure the impact from real-world consumers. At this point, feedback is critical — it is far easier to make amendments and refinements to your product or service at this stage, than down the line when you have invested in quantities of stock, branded images, and design assets.
This strategy will provide vital information to inform better decisions and help you avoid some potentially costly mistakes.
Create a Financial Plan
Although your business idea may just be in the concept development stage, it is vital to make financial plans for at least your first 3 to 6 months, and possibly beyond that to your first 2 years. This process will help you evaluate your capital, and assess the areas of research you will need to investigate for costing out your business.
You may not end up sticking to this plan verbatim, and it’s likely that as your plan develops, you will make amendments. However, setting clear goals at this stage will keep your spending organized and inspire you to achieve what you have outlined.
Create a Development and Marketing Plan
Once your financial plan is roughly in place, you can begin assessing your product or service in terms of the finer details and how you are going to execute your launch. This is where assessing your competitors can come in very useful, discovering where others in your market found success and where they went wrong can be incredibly informative.
Starting small can be the way to grow smart, focus on your niche audience and how these people can be reached via quality marketing content. A few loyal customers are the foundation a great business is built upon. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback from these early customers, and offer something in return — such as a discount for answering a quick survey. The ROI of this strategy will be invaluable as you develop.
Stay Flexible
When you are in the early, exciting stages of your business planning, it is easy to get caught up in dreams of the future and what you want your business to look like in the years to come. However, putting too much emphasis on an imagined outcome could cause you to miss the best opportunities because you are narrowly shooting for one goal.
The best entrepreneurs remain flexible and are willing for their business concept to evolve wherever the highest potential for success lies. When we launched our brand, we expected to find a niche in the Wedding and formal-wear market, remaining adaptable has taught us that suspenders for casual-wear is another highly viable market for our business that has inspired the development of entirely different designs and makes up a valuable percentage of our revenue.
Whatever your business, if you follow these tips and are willing to roll with the punches, you can turn your killer idea into a success.
