You’ve got a dream that just won’t die, so you start down the path of entrepreneurship. Along the way you meet your supporters and your detractors. At some point, the naysayers stir your first seeds of doubt:
How do you know whether your idea will lead to a successful business?
How can you make sure your leap of faith won’t land you into a pit of financial ruin?
How do you overcome the obstacles before you?
The answer? You can’t. There’s no guarantee that your efforts will lead to a positive outcome, but there are measures you can take to prepare yourself and increase the likelihood of coming out on top.
Before (and during, and after) setting off to make a business out of your idea, make sure you get as much feedback as possible.
Self-evaluate, but also take the time to reach out to peers, potential customers, and potential competition. Listen carefully to your critics. Don’t let one criticism tank your idea, but be open-minded to the feedback you receive.
As you plan, you can utilize the objections of others to refine your idea. Each failure you have is teaching you something new and is an opportunity to redirect yourself towards the things that are possible.
Here’s one story of a man who didn’t let failure define his outcomes and refined his idea until he finally achieved his dream.
Analyze Your Idea
Before going all in on your new venture, take a step back and analyze your plan. Ask yourself the following questions:- Is my idea new?
- Am I improving upon an old idea, or does my expertise bring value?
- What is the market saturation point? Do I have a lot of competition, or is there room for my idea in the marketplace?
- Do I have the right qualifications, or, if not, can I obtain the needed qualifications?
- Am I adequately funded? Can I survive the period of growth between starting up and obtaining my first few sales or clients?
- What is my support network, and are they on board with my plan?
- Do I have access to affordable insurance, and will I qualify for coverage?