1.1 Creating a business idea and checking it out

Creating a business idea

Have you already got a business idea that you want to try and put in to practice? If so you can skip this section and go straight to the next one – My Business Idea – on the next page.

There are two sides to the business idea coin: ME + MARKET. The ‘Me’ bit is about your passions and abilities. The ‘Market’ bit means figuring out what people will part with their hard earned cash for.

Have a go at answering each of these questions.

ME MARKETWhat do I really enjoy doing?

Solve a problem: e.g. a product or service people want but can’t find

What am I good at?

A better solution: e.g combining products or services to create something better

What skills and other abilities do I have?

Bridge a gap: e.g. a product or service you can sell for a lot more than it costs to buy

Now see if you can bring these together into one business idea that ‘ticks the box’ in both columns

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Don’t worry if you don’t get your ‘killer idea’ straight away. Just write down as many answers as you can and if you get stuck talk to

friends and family

work mates

your Enterprise Coach

to help you get some new ideas. Once you have your idea you can skip the next section.

My business idea

If you already have a business idea, describe your product or service here.

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Snakes and ladders – what will help and what will hinder me?

Taking the steps towards working for yourself can seem a bit like a game of snakes and ladders. There are things around us that can really help us, ladders that can shoot us forward. Equally there are things that can hinder us, snakes (not necessarily bad things!) that can make it doubly difficult to get going. Thinking about your snakes and ladders can help you and your Enterprise Coach get a realistic idea of your prospects. Fill in the following table – we’ve added in some examples (shaded) to give you an idea in case you get stuck.

THE THINGSAROUND US

Experience

I’ve never been responsible for money before I have ten years experience in the trade

Health

I’ve frequently suffered from depression I can’t ever remember having a day off sick

Family

Whatever I do has to fit in around my kids My uncle has a garage he’ll let me use for free

FriendsMy best mate tells me I haven’t got what it takes to run a business

I have a friend from school who’s an accountant and who will help me

LocationI live in a village miles away from my likely customers

It’s easy to get to the motorway and train station from here

Home

There’s nowhere to store my stock at home I can easily use a spare bedroom as an office

MoneyI haven’t got any spare cash to help me start up

I’m already receiving a pension so I don’t need to earn a lot

Anything else!I haven’t got a car and don’t drive We have really good Broadband connections

here

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2.

Does it look possible? – for me and my business

So far we’ve described a business idea and thought about snakes and ladders that could help or hinder us along the way. Now we’re going to take that a bit further. THIS IS NOT A TEST! It’s all about looking at ourselves in the business mirror and pulling together information that will help us get more out of the time with our Enterprise Coach. Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 on each of these measures and jot down a few notes at the end to explain why you gave yourself that score.

1 = 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10 = Comments

MotivationDon’t care whether this works or not Completely committed

to making this work

Snakes vs ladders Lots of snakes, no ladders

Lots of ladders, no snakes

ExperienceNever worked in this trade or profession before

Years of experience in this trade or profession

Business know how Know absolutely nothing about running a business

Successfully started a business before

Organised Can never find anything I need

A place for everything and everything in its place

People - person Hate meeting people I don’t know

Love meeting new people

Decisive Ace procrastinator – can never make my mind up

Great at weighing up the odds and taking action

3. 4

2.

Deadlines Always seem to be running late

Never late for the things that matter

Now let’s try the same kind of exercise for your business idea. Rate your idea on a scale of 1 to 10 on each of these measures and jot down a few notes at the end to explain why you gave your idea that score. These may just be your comments; even better if you have some evidence to back them up.

1 = 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10 = Evidence and comments

MarketI’ve no idea if there’s a need for this I’m certain people will

pay good money for this

CustomersI’ve no idea who my customers will be – anyone?

I know exactly who my most likely customers will be

MessageI’ve no idea how I’ll contact potential customers

I know exactly how to contact these potential customers

PriceI’ve no idea what to charge for my product or service

I’m really clear on the price I’ll charge for my product or service

Competitors I haven’t thought about competitors

I know exactly who my competitors are and why I can beat them

ProductionI haven’t thought about what it will take to produce this

I know exactly what’s needed to offer this product or service

3. 5

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DeliveryNo idea how I’ll get my product or service to the customer

I know exactly how I’ll get my prod./service to the customer

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