Launching A Business? Ask These 5 Questions First
28 November, 2017 / Articles
Launching a business is an exciting, adventurous and bold commitment. Enamored of the wonder of the overnight IPO, a lot of excitable entrepreneurs set out on the journey expecting it to be simple and speedy. However, the reality is often far from it. Creating a business requires more than just a good idea. It requires tenacity, grit and the right confluence of circumstances. Here are five questions to ask before you launch your business.
- Does This Excite Me?
First and foremost, you must care about what you’re creating. And not just care about it today, but care about it five or ten years from now. Your business will be with you for a long time, and in many ways will become part of your identity. Thinking that it’s a good idea is not enough, you must feel an unshakeable desire to bring your idea to life.
- How Is This Meaningful To Others?
The world already has more than enough stuff and services. To really cut through, what you’re creating must add and enrich people’s lives in a meaningful way. Ask yourself why what you’re building matters. Ask why consumers wouldn’t be able to live without it and why it makes their lives better. Once you have conviction around these answers, you will be able to draw on them for motivation when the going gets tough.
- How Can This Make Headlines?
All good ideas should have the power to make headlines. Even if it is a seemingly low interest category. Just think about how Thinx period-proof panties made headlines, or Dove got the world walking about our distorted notions of beauty. Make sure you understand how you can make your business idea bigger than just the product or service itself, and ladder it up to something more dramatic and more engaging.
- What Are You Trying To Change?
Have a good look around you, well beyond your own category, to find out who is doing a really stellar job of creating superfans, crafting an engaging story that people want to listen to and building a movement people want to be part of. Spend some time uncovering what you believe their success formula is, and find a way to replicate it in your own category. Getting clarity on what you are trying to change will make all your future business decisions easier.
- Why Is The Time Right, Right Now?
Some good ideas fail just because they were before their time, or had just missed the boat. Especially in today’s climate, the first mover advantage rarely exists. In fact, often the first mover paves the way for an upstart by readying the market for that line of thinking. Just think about MySpace clearing the way for Facebook, or Match readying the market for Tinder. Make sure you understand why the time is right for your business, right now. What trends are you riding? Why is the market ready for your novel idea? Without certainty around this, your idea may never find its place in the world.
The science man and innovator, Fernando Fischmann, founder of Crystal Lagoons, recommends this article.
