How to assess your small business idea and determine its feasibility

So you have the big idea to start up a business that will grow to be a huge success and make you lots of money. The only reason it isn't happening yet is because you are having a hard time getting funding to back it. Why won't people back this idea? You know it's the best in the world. In order to start a successful business, you have to be honest with yourself. The confidence needed to endorse the big idea needs to be founded on careful analysis of the market and the actual feasibility of it. If you can sell the idea to people based on the market and the ability for it to work with the help of their money, your chances of getting it off the ground will sky rocket. Here are some ways to assess your small business idea to determine its feasibility in the marketplace.

Here is the first question you need to ask yourself about the big idea. Is there a need? If there is a need, how substantial is it? Take the idea further with the aid of market analysis and figure out how much money could be made from the business plan that you have drawn up. A business plan should be a working business on paper. It can be treated like a real business with actual numbers recorded from the market and a "test run" can be taken with it. Doing all of this really saves a lot of money and heartache in the long run. Being able to prove its awesomeness will be very impressive to those you are trying to get involved with the company.

Another question to ask yourself is, what does the future look like for a business like this? This can be crucial if trend changes are in the close future. Even if the idea is perfect, the business outline is flawless, and the market analysis reveals dollar signs, it won't matter one bit if that industry is going to go through a drastic change that sways from that idea. Marketability is extremely vital to the continued success of a business. Can the big idea stand change? What this means is can the idea go through a trend change, and still be a good idea. For example, wire telephones to cell phones. AT&T deals with the service of the phones coverage, not just the phone itself. They are able to broaden their business into other facets of communication. There are so many services, plans, and extras that are offered that phone companies make a killing of that one big idea they had originally. So another question is, does the idea have room to grow and become better? If the business is able to do that, then the chances of it becoming successful are far greater.

The last question to ask yourself is, does my idea have significant enough niche in the community or in the industry? Can the idea survive in the place it is now, or does it need to be applied in an area where it can be most appreciated? Are you trying to make a business and aiming the product at the wrong people? For example, there is a huge demand for movie camcorders in the industry, but it would be dumb for someone to try and sell professional movie making gear to those customers. For one, they wouldn't be able to afford the product. And two, the lack of sales would make the business fail. A way to solve the problem is to take the center idea, provide movie cameras to the consumer, and make a goal for it; to bring professional grade capabilities to the average consumer. This is a great idea, because it was fine tuned.

Taking the leap into the market with an independent business is a hard thing to accomplish. Have confidence in that big and don't stop when things get rough.