There is nothing easier than coming up with an idea for a new business. At the same time, however, there is nothing harder than coming up with such an idea and for it also be good. If you want to pitch your idea for startup funding, then you first have to be sure that you have come up with something unique and something that will work. Let’s take a look at ten key indicators to suggest you are on a winner.
10 Key Signs of a Good Business Idea
- Nobody else has the same idea. This makes sense: if you can come up with something unique, then it is likely that it will at least gather attention. It isn’t key to being successful, but it is helpful.
- If someone else is already doing it, you have a way of doing it completely differently. For instance, it isn’t difficult to find office cleaning services. It is a lot harder to find such a service that uses locally produced, 100% organic cleaning products, however.
- Your business provides a solution to a current problem. There would be no point, for instance, in coming up with a new type of wind generator in Aude, in the South of France (one of the windiest places on earth). Your idea has to offer something unique, therefore, but also something important (the laws of supply and demand).
- Paying for your business is possible. You may have to apply for some funding, but you do need to budget it carefully and determine that the costings are in fact realistic. Luckily, this is one of the easier elements of coming up with a good business idea, and countless books have been written on the subject.
- There is a niche for what you pitch. This means that there is currently a gap in supply when demand is there. This is closely related to the idea having to solve a problem.
- Strangers get enthusiastic about what you propose. They tell you that they think it would work, or that they would spend their money on your proposed product or service. These people must be strangers, however, as they are not biased towards you.
- Trustworthy friends and colleagues support you and say the idea is likely to work. If those are people whom you know will be honest with you, then you can trust in their opinion.
- You create a prototype and present it at a consumer or trade show, where it is an instant success. These shows offer fantastic opportunities for you to see how your idea will be received; use them to your advantage.
- You don’t need a degree in quantum physics to understand what your product or service is. People like things to be simple nowadays, and it is unlikely that you will receive funding if you create something difficult to understand.
- You love what you do. This is the last key thing. If you don’t believe in your product, or if you don’t enjoy working with it, nobody else will either. If your heart is not in it anymore, then you should look elsewhere for something else.
There you have it, ten key things that tell you your idea is a good one. Score on all 10 of them, and you are almost guaranteed to be on a winner. Nurture that entrepreneurial spirit and come up with something good!
How Do You Know if You Have a Good Business Idea?