How To Narrow Down Business Ideas
Starting your business is an exciting prospect, but it can feel overwhelming as well. There are so many things you could do! Before diving in, make sure you have done all of the necessary preparation by developing your business and figuring out what businesses are already available and successful.
By doing this ahead of time, you will know what resources are ready and waiting for you when you decide to launch. You also won’t need to worry about money until you have enough to pay bills!
Having a plan makes sense not only because it levels out some pressure, but also to help keep you motivated since you have set a goal. Once you have that goal, you are more likely to stay invested instead of quitting due to lack of motivation.
This article will go into detail on several different ways to narrow down business ideas.
Create a list of things your business should do
As you create your shortlist, make sure to include activity areas that are meaningful to you as an entrepreneur.
It’s easy to get distracted by all the fun ideas you have for your business, but choosing something that you feel passionate about is key in helping you focus on what really needs to be done.
By having this sense of clarity, you will keep yourself motivated more than if you were working on projects that you don’t care much about.
So, how to narrow down your business idea?
Start with the thing like “I want to run my own coffee shop” or “I would love to start my own restaurant” – great!
But then ask yourself whether your coffee drinking/eating habits satisfy that need at the moment. And also if you already have a kitchen full of food-making equipment that you could put towards creating your dream space.
Create a list of things your business should be called
Before you even begin looking at businesses, you will need to decide what your business should be called! This is an important step as it will determine how your business looks in advertisements, online listings, etc.
You do not want your potential customers to google your business name and find something else with similar spelling or tone. So, make sure you have clear pictures for your business logo, and identify your business through descriptive text that matches your business name.
After doing some research and talking to yourself, other people who own similar businesses, you may already know what your business is! If not, then no worries, there are many free tools available to help you come up with your business’s ideal title.
There are several ways to choose your business’s ideal title. You can use keywords and describe your business, compare your business to others out there, or simply brainstorm possible titles until one sticks.
Come up with your company’s website theme
Developing your business idea is not the final step, it is actually the most important! After you have an understanding of what kind of service or product you want to offer and how you plan to fulfill that need, the next thing to do is determine if there are already companies that offer those services.
If there are, great! You know this idea has been done before so you will need to work on making yours better or different than the rest. If no one offers the services you desire, then that is also okay!
There are many ways to test the waters for your business concept. Creating a web page or app based on their template can help get your feet wet and limited resources are the perfect place to start. By creating your own version of theirs, you can add in things like products and services that fit your company well and grow from there.
Good luck out there! Now let’s talk about how to narrow down business ideas.
Make a list of your potential customers’ needs
As we mentioned before, the first step in narrowing down business ideas is to make a list of all of the things people need done for their businesses.
This includes products they use now that they would like to replace or eliminate, services they are currently paying for that they would prefer to get rid of, and things such as changing their diet or giving up chocolate because they can’t afford it.
By thinking about what others need, you will begin to identify some important requirements for yourself. If you ever listened in detail to everyone else’s dreams, you’d probably be overwhelmed.
But if you could address those demands directly then maybe your idea wouldn’t seem so crazy after all?
Your potential customers have a huge amount of information stored away about goods and services that work well and don’t work well. By listening to this subconscious chatter, you’ll find that some gaps start to emerge.
If there’s something missing from the market, you may feel confident enough to fill it.
Make a list of your potential customers’ preferences
As mentioned before, knowing who your audience is can help you determine what business idea will work for you. By thinking about the types of people that purchase similar products, you may be able to create your own product or service that appeals to them.
By asking yourself questions such as “Who buys X?” and “What are their reasons for buying Y?”, you’ll get some clues about which product or business concept is needed.
You can also use these questions to see if there’s already a company that offers something like it.
Make a list of things to do next to start and grow your business
Starting from here, make a list of all of the services or products you can offer through your business. These could be for profit or not-for-profit organizations. You should include any type of product or service that would help people or businesses (for example, if you are good at making websites, add that as an offering).
You may also want to check out how other entrepreneurs built their business before starting to pick one that fits you best. Many have written about what worked for them and maybe you will find something new they mentioned.
By narrowing down your possibilities, it becomes easier to decide which ones are worth exploring more thoroughly.
Make a list of things to do next to launch your business
After you have determined that your current career no longer fits you, it is time to look at other options. While some changes are due to personal reasons, like moving closer to home or wanting a different type of work environment, most times we need a change because of money.
Running a business can be expensive, which makes having enough savings even more important. If you want to stay within budget, you will have to know what costs are allowed to slide for your business and what must be put aside for future expenses.
In addition to cost issues, deciding where to place your investment capital depends on how much risk you are willing to take. For example, if you wanted to start a flower shop, you would not invest in land or large equipment until you found a source of water and adequate electricity, as well as space to grow flowers.
Once these basics are covered, you could think about investing in additional fixtures and decorations, as well as plants and soil. All of these items can easily be sourced online or through local sellers or vendors.
Planning a trip to pick up new supplies can be done during off-hours so there is less exposure to potential customers. Since traveling with your business takes time, try to schedule this activity after working hours.
Brainstorm some potential markets your business may serve
As mentioned earlier, being aware of your market is the first step in narrowing down business ideas. But how do you know if your business idea is targeted enough?
The easiest way to find out is by doing an audit of your current services or products and determining whether those services are already available to people. If they are, then your business will be a direct competition.
If however, there is no such product or service, then it’s time to create one! An easy way to do this is to determine the types of businesses that are successful today and see what features they have that yours doesn’t.
