Everyone has at least one or two business ideas throughout their life. Often these ideas are brought about through frustration or a difficulty met through work or life. If you can solve a problem which people are willing to spend money on then you have a viable business proposition.
So how do you go about turning your great idea into a tangible business? Here are four questions that can help you turn your idea into a reality.
- Vision – What’s your ultimate goal?
What’s your vision? What do you want to achieve? And no we’re not talking about becoming a millionaire (although that’d be nice). Successful entrepreneurs have a vision for how they want to make a change for the better. What’s yours? What would be the best possible outcome once you’ve launched your product or service? Think big!
We’re all inspired by great ideas, founders included. Having a clear vision of what you want to achieve will motivate you to push through the tough times.
- Know your ‘Why’
Closely related to your vision, why do you want to do your business idea? In his book “Start With Why”, Simon Sinek explains that “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”. People relate to people, and why individuals and companies do what they do resonates with us and influences our purchasing decisions.
So what about your business idea motivates you? Why do you want to solve this particular problem?
Being crystal clear on not only what you want to do but why will further motivate you and influence how you inspire others about your idea.
- Who is your ideal customer?
Don’t say everyone! Your startup idea is your baby, and you think everyone is going to love it. Except they won’t. Most products and services appeal to a narrow range of people.
So grab a pen and paper and get specific about your ideal customer profile.
Some questions to consider:
- Who are they?
- What is their age range?
- What type of job do they have?
- What problems do they have?
- What do they worry about?
- What challenges do they face?
The more detailed you can be the better. You can even give your customer profile a name if you want.
Getting specific will really help you to understand what drives your ideal customer and also how to market to them when you start to think about your business model.
Only a few products have a wide appeal, and they are usually the essentials such as toiletries and food products. So unless your product is absolutely essential (and most are not) then get thinking about who your ideal customer is and what drives them.
If you really think your product or service will appeal to more than one type of person, make a customer profile for each of them.
- What’s your value proposition?
Last year I bought a bike. Did I buy the bike because I wanted a bike? No. I bought the bike so I could exercise and get in better health. That’s the value that I wanted to gain from my purchase.
For almost all of the things we buy, we don’t buy them because we want the actual object or service; we buy them because of the value or benefit we hope to gain from them. This is a product or service’s value proposition.
So what’s your value proposition? What core benefits would your business idea provide to your ideal customer? What would motivate your ideal customer to buy your product or service?
Having a business idea is easy. Turning it into a startup business is tough. But by being clear on your vision and why you want to do it, as well as who your ideal customer is and what your product or service’s value proposition is will help you turn it into a reality.
