Monday, August 16, 2010

Business Planning - What Not To Do: Part 3


Shortcut the research.

Does this really need explanation?  Okay, so it does.  I’ve found that ‘things that go without saying’ should always be said.

You probably know someone who tried to start a business without doing any or adequate research.  You remember them telling you about this fabulous business idea that they came up with and after researching the market, they’ve decided that nobody else has ever had the idea.  The only problem is that you know of at least two other companies who do this same idea and are doing it very well.  What was this person thinking?  They clearly didn’t do any research because the vaguest of internet searches would have turned up their competition.

On the other side of the coin, we’re not trying to solve the remaining six Millennium Prize math problems.  We’re talking about answering a couple of basic market research questions.  

1. Who is the competition and what are they do well and not so well.
2. Who is the customer and be able to describe them in demographic terms
3. What do your customers like and dislike about the product or industry and what do they really want?
4. S.W.O.T. Analysis for your company and the market.

That much research might take you a couple of days or a couple of months, depending on how much time you have to devote to the project and how complicated your market.

For more information about the business planning and start-up process, get my new book, Business Start-up 101, From Great Idea to Profit…Quick!  It’s coming out in September, but you can pre-order your copy now.


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