Great and successful businesses starts from great business ideas. Starting a business involves a lot of considerations and the beginning of any business venture starts with a business idea that is feasible. A feasible idea means an idea that is capable of being achieved or put into effect or reasonable enough to be believed or accepted.
How do you know if a business idea is feasible? It begins with a feasibility study. A feasibility study is a preliminary study undertaken to assess whether a planned project is likely to be practical and successful and to estimate its cost.
There are various methods to carry out this study. One of the many ways is the survey method. A survey involves a statistical analysis of answers to a poll of a sample of a population, e.g. to determine opinions, preferences, or knowledge about a particular subject relevant to your business idea.
Bear in mind that your business idea must provide a solution to a problem. If your business idea does not solve a human problem, it can hardly succeed.
Consider the following factors before your feasibility study:
1. Identify a problem: A good business idea starts from identifying a problem which you intend to provide a solution for. Depending on the nature of the problem and the demography involved, your feasibility study will be well structured and targeted towards the right population.
2. Provide a solution to the problem: After identifying the problem, your next action is how to provide the solution. Your entire business plan will however be focused on the solution for the most part, because that is what you will be selling to your prospective customers.
3. What are your limitations in providing the solution: Identify the limitations and possible challenges that can stop you from actualizing the business idea. Accurately pinpointing these limitations will equip you with the mentality to handle what you are up against.
3. How can you mitigate the limitations: After identifying the challenges, work up a plan or a way to lessen its effect on the success of your business idea. It is important at this stage to list out how you can achieve it.
5. What do you need to achieve your goal: While your business plan is the engine room, the budget is like the oil that moves the engine parts. You will have to draw up a budget of the cost of actualizing your business idea.
6. Identify your competitors: Your business idea one way or the other have someone somewhere already providing the solution, these people are your competitors. Identify them and learn a few things about them.
7. How can you beat the competition: After identifying your competitors, bring up innovative ways that can stand you out from them. Using what you already know about the idea and touching it up with more innovations can give you an edge over others.
8. What are the risks involved: Every business idea and plan have its risks, identify these risk and find a way to mitigate them.
9. What will you benefit from the idea: Finally what will you gain from the business idea. How can you generate income from the business? Your business partners and sponsors will be very interested in knowing your response to these questions.
Having considered the above factors, the next step is the feasibility study. Your business can only succeed if you identify your prospective customers and get a background information about:
1. Demographics
2. Preferences
3. Peculiar problems
4. Standard of living and
5. Spending behaviors
You can decide to use a questionnaire to extract these information using a sample of the population. A well-structured questionnaire will address all your doubts about your business plan and position you to produce a service or commodity that your customers will appreciate.
It is very productive to carry out a feasibility study before production. The difference between successful businesses and a failed business plan lies on the feasibility of the idea. Having the right data about your business idea can help you write great business proposals that can succeed.