1) Am I viable as an entrepreneur?
The first thing to do to find out if a business idea is viable is to turn the question around and ask yourself “Am I viable for the idea? This is the key question and, however, the one that many entrepreneurs do not ask themselves. Many experts in business creation agree with this opinion and give the business idea a relative value. The profile of the entrepreneur and the team is one of the factors that most influences the success of a project. It is advisable to do the self-examination with a high degree of honesty.
For example, if I intend to launch a project based on Public Relations and commercial skills, but I have difficulties in communicating and an alarming shyness, I must realize that this is not the most suitable project for my profile. And although it seems obvious, very few do. Do I have the skills and abilities necessary to carry out my project? Do I want to develop my professional career as an entrepreneur? If the answers are yes, go to the next question.
2) Am I willing to sleep very little for the next few years?
In the previous analysis you have verified that you have the ability to negotiate, to sell, to communicate, to make decisions. That you are a creative person and that you do not shrink in the face of difficulties. That you have leadership skills, to manage teams, to delegate… The time has come to find out if you are the first convinced of your project. Without much personal energy, business ideas do not succeed.
The entrepreneur must analyze to what extent he is willing to fight, to assume the risk involved in running a business. If you are looking for security and personal comfort, it is better not to start a business, because business initiatives involve not sleeping enough nights. So, are you willing to spend penalties? To bear that many do not understand you? If the answer is that you prefer to be quiet after five in the afternoon, perhaps entrepreneurship is not your best alternative. Otherwise, keep reading.
3) Do I have experience in the sector?
It’s not essential, but it helps. Most ideas arise in the environment of the entrepreneur. If you are from Madrid, it will be difficult for you to come up with an idea to develop on the coast. The best way to add value to the market is to undertake a sector that is known, especially if the project is small.
4) What does my business idea consist of?
To start a company it is essential to have a clear business idea and to know the subject matter. You have to accurately describe the service you are going to offer. Analyze why and for whom it is intended and why it would be valued by potential customers.
All experts of business setup in Dubai agree on the importance of this analysis of the business idea: What products or services am I going to offer to the market? What will my business model be? What innovation, from a technological or business point of view, does my company contribute? These are some of the questions that the entrepreneur must answer. Let’s see what tool you can use to perform this analysis.
5) What are your weaknesses, threats, strengths and opportunities?
The initials of these four words form the acronym SWOT, an essential resource for analyzing the viability of a business idea. It consists of transferring to paper the evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the company to see which is the most appropriate strategy to start up the business.
The SWOT allows you to stand in front of the market and check if there is room for what you are going to offer or if, on the contrary, it is better to rethink the situation and change your plans. If when doing so we realize that there is no market, or that it will be very difficult for us to find our site because technical, financial or human resources are needed that we do not have, it is better to back down. If, finally, the strengths and opportunities of your idea outweigh the drawbacks, continue with the analysis.
6) My product or service, does it cover a market need or do I seek to create it?
It is time to study the public we are going to address. Another cornerstone of feasibility analysis. You have to start studying if there is a market for what I am going to offer. If so, it will be necessary to check if I can occupy a gap in that market and, if not, if I can create a new need.
Of course, in this last case, it is convenient not to lose the north: It is not easy to arouse a new interest in consumers on a planetary scale, much less for a small company. It is easier to do better what other competitors do poorly or target a neglected market niche than it is to invent a new product or launch a new service on the market. In fact, most of the companies we have consulted have their origin in a market need.
