A new idea is often the basis for starting up a business. Many entrepreneurs spot a gap in the market and start businesses that provide a product or service that fills it. Though having an idea is important but entrepreneurs get so involved in their ideas that they lose focus and objectivity. Here is where researching your business idea becomes important.
It is important to research the viability of your idea before launching a startup. Thorough assessment and market research at an early stage will help you to establish whether there is a market for your product or service.
The research plan should clearly spell out the objectives of your research. Research can be conducted by gathering information from the web, periodicals, federal and state agencies, industry associations, and so on. You can categorize the research by following the 4C’s – Company, Customer, Competitor and Collaborators.
A detailed article on the same is written by Karen E. Spaeder in Entrepreneur.com:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/businessideas/evaluatingyouridea/article70518.html
Shenker, president of the ONswitch LLC, a full-service marketing firm in Westchester, New York. "Rather than taking the time to thoroughly plan and research, they sometimes plow ahead with execution, only to spend valuable dollars on unfocused or untargeted activities."
A common mistake many startups make is that they don’t conduct strict research to check the feasibility of their ideas. Research is of vital importance to startups if they want to be successful.
When you’re starting up, you usually have a great idea or rather to say that you have a great idea and that is why you are starting up. This great idea of today will be the “killer product” for tomorrow and will turn out be an absolute blockbuster, or at least that is what you believe. Here is where the “Stealth” mentality comes in. You obviously want to protect your idea from the competitors and you think that being secretive is the key to success for your start up.
All is well except for the price that you will have to pay in the longer run for being locked up in your basement, talking to yourself for that ground breaking product you are working on. Products and services are made successful by adoption and adoption only happens after testing and feedback and iterations. Startups suffering the “stealth syndrome” lose out on great industry connections, PR opportunities, feedback from potential customers, and affluent investors.
What eventually makes a difference between success and failure of your startup isn’t your idea but your capability to create and dominate the market.
Truer words were never spoken before; ‘stealth’ startups need to open to reality. Vivek Wadhwa of UC Berkeley explains why: http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/12/19/stealth-startupsget-over-yourselves-nobody-cares-about-your-secrets/
Learning what a customer needs is an iterative process. You try something, get feedback. Both you and your customer learn more and you try again. You keep doing this until you have something which is so compelling that the customer will pay money to have it—that’s when you know you have a killer product. But you can’t get feedback if you’re in stealth. You only have yourself to talk to.
Hope this information was informative and useful
As a startup business, building a website is requisite to promote your business online, drive in the targeted traffic and not to mention, make profits. People usually have different perspectives when it comes to building a website for their startup business.
Firstly, there are people who believe in having online presence as the flagship of their company. Secondly, for others it is the first impression maker that will tempt potential customers to contact them for quotation and further discussion.
Steve Pick of Startup Nation has narrated a few steps for building a starup website:
Getting started building a website
You can hire someone to create a website, or you can roll up your sleeves and do it yourself. If you’re starting out on a tight budget, and/or the website will serve primarily as a source of information for your customers - and provided you have at least a modicum of computer savvy - then creating an attractive and functional website from scratch is well within your abilities.
To build a website for your startup business you need to register for a domain name, web hosting services, web authoring software and a perfect website design. For more information about building a startup website, traverse through the below link: http://www.startupnation.com/articles/1260/1/building-website-basics-business.asp
Don't start up your own business because you want to be your own boss. People prefer to become entrepreneurs for a variety of reasons. For some it’s a chance to get rid of their mundane nine-to-five routine while other wants to devote their lives to something that is much closer to their hearts.
Here are a few actual reasons by George, why you really should give it a try and start up your own business: http://www.onlineinvestingai.com/blog/2009/07/14/5-reasons-to-start-your-own-business/
2. No such thing as Job Security
People used to believe in job security. They thought that if they spent decades working for a company, the company would take care of them and give them money for retirement. Many people even thought that they could not be fired because they had been working there for so long. That seems like a pretty dated notion in today’s globally competitive world. Even unions, which attempt to ensure job security, cannot survive when their employers and industries disappear.
It's time to stop creaking. The economy might be melting down like a dab of butter on a hot Hummer roof, but for startups this could be a great opportunity. There's no better time for startups than the present, especially when the competitors around you have their list of reasons why they shouldn't start following their own business dreams right now. Here is a nice post by Mike Butcher: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tech-media-invest-100/no-better-time-startup
So, what do we have? The right economic climate and lots of market spaces left to fill. And - for the right people, teams and ideas - capital. Just remember which companies started up in the mid-1970s - one of the world's worst economic dips? Microsoft and Apple. Now all you have to do is go and do it.
As a start up entrepreneur there are many decisions that you need to take everyday. And if even 50% go correct, chances are that you will rise above the other umpteen competitors and create a brand of your own. Robert Scoble of the Scobelizer has a great post and follow up comments going here: http://scobleizer.com/2009/11/13/the-worst-things-startups-do/.
Some points that he mentions are a bit over the top like this one
11. Startups pick old technology because it’s familiar. You’re a startup, you should be picking the best of breed for everything you do. If you are using Microsoft Office “just because” then you are making a mistake. Have you considered Jive, SocialText, Zoho, Google Docs and Spreadsheets and Wave before making your choices? Have you really looked at ways to make your small company more productive? Or you just going with the same stuff your dad’s company used?
The other ones are more reasonable and offer some great insights into what you should NOT do as a start up.
