Have a great business idea? Why Planning and Testing your idea is critical before you go all in

Live the Dream – Dubai Start Up Advice Series by Alpha Pro Partners

Starting a business has never been easier. The internet has made the world smaller but grown opportunities for entrepreneurs of all shapes and sizes. From local mum-and-dad shops to global multinational ventures, opportunity is just a click away.

Finding the right idea is crucial and you have to be certain that you’re ready to go into business. Our recent article covered this and the questions you should ask yourself to see if you’re prepared. For those who want to start, it’s time to put things into action.

Let’s Talk About Business Plans

The prospect of starting a business conjures up a wide variety of beliefs and expectations. Some are true, some are not. When it comes to business plans, this notion that you spend months developing one is becoming an increasingly outdated way of thinking. 

It’s important to have a business plan, and for it to contain vital information that refers to business growth and success, but it shouldn’t be something that takes a long time to write and then sits on a shelf gathering dust. 

What Goes In A Business Plan

Most business plans contain a similar structure. This is designed to give a breakdown of the reason you launched your business before going into the details of how it works from a financial, marketing, and operational perspective.

If you’re starting a business plan, you should consider including these sections:

1. Executive Summary

Your executive summary is a brief introduction to the business. It explains your company’s legal structure, where you’re based, what you sell, who buys it, the market opportunities, and key financial information - funding, investors etc.;

2. Company Overview

This section looks at your mission statement and how the products or services you offer will contribute to achieving this. It should discuss your industry and long-term aspirations, detailing how you will provide value to the existing market;

3. Products or Services

Although self-explanatory it is often the part where new business owners come unstuck. How do you explain your product or service on paper? This might outline individual products or services and how they are presented in the market;

4. Staff and Operations

You should clearly define who your staff are and what they do. Within this, you should be able to neatly summarise your operational processes, supply chain management, customer relationship, inventory etc. For many businesses, employees are extremely important for execution;

5. Market Analysis

Will someone buy your product? How big is the market? There is always the risk of launching a business that doesn’t have a customer base. Your market analysis should tell you what this is and detail competitors you will be up against. 

6. Marketing and Sales

Having a business idea is one thing. Telling people about it is another. Selling it is the difference between success and failure. Your marketing and sales plan will help you understand how you build awareness of products/services and grow your revenue. 

7. Financial Plan

Some might say this is the most important section. What does your business need to sell in order to be viable? This should consider any costs you will incur, sales you intend to make, staff salaries etc. Profit, loss and balance sheets are vital.

8. SWOT Analysis

Self-reflection can be eye-opening. Your SWOT analysis (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) should form a series of bullet points. Use these and turn them into actions that give you the knowledge you need to build and protect your business.

The detail you choose to include is entirely your own. A business plan should contain the amount of information you need in order to make effective decisions while using it to compare what you thought might happen against what is really happening. 

When writing your business plan there are lots of things you need to consider. Don’t rush the writing, but don’t spend too long on it either. You could spend 12 months doing exhaustive market research but then you’re 12 months behind where you want to be.

The Alternative: A Business Model Canvas

If you need something simpler but visual, the business model canvas is an excellent way to turn your business plan into something that helps you understand the components of your new venture. 

You can complete these on an A4/A3 piece of paper that helps you visually see how your business works. The different sections map on to similar themes of a typical business plan but is for those who are more creative or need a different way of presenting the information. 

Test Your Idea: Fail Fast. Fail Cheap. 

Nobody likes to hear the word ‘fail’ but it’s better to learn this early in business than it is too late, especially if money is at risk. Failing fast and failing cheap means testing your idea and learning what the strengths and weaknesses are as early as possible.

Here are six steps you should take in the process of launching a product or service:

1. Stop And Think

After you’ve come up with an idea, don’t jump right in. Take some time to stop and do other things. Come back to it and see if you still think it’s a good idea. It’s easy to get caught up in the emotion of what you think a great business could be. 

2. Build A Minimal Viable Product

Create what you need for the lowest price possible. If you’re able to test an idea for $1,000 instead of $10,000, do it. Would you rather lose less or more if it doesn’t have the support you thought it would?

3. Ask For Friends and Family to Buy your Product

You have a great idea, but is it sellable? Ask your friends and family to buy your product rather than giving it away. If they are willing to pay for the product then you can be sure others will.

4. Ask For Feedback

Feedback can be hard to hear, especially if people are critical of what you’ve worked hard to create. But see it as a positive and learn from what is said - both good and bad - incorporating this into new designs and features.

5. Make Changes

Don’t expect to get everything right the first time. After you’ve asked for feedback, or done additional research, make changes and go ask people for their thoughts again. Making revisions based on feedback could get your product where it needs to be.

6. Web And Social

Building an online presence is easy and gives you everything you need to test your idea. Try launching a small website and doing some work on social media to see what kind of interest it generates. A small advertising budget goes a long way. 

7. Create A Marketing Strategy

Spend some time to develop a marketing strategy that reflects how you would take your product or service out to market. Having an idea isn’t enough, you still need to do the work required to get key messages out to potential customers. 

Conclusion

Don’t be put off. Writing business plans and testing ideas sounds complicated but they really aren’t. They are vital ways of ensuring you enjoy the process of starting a business, growing it, and living the life you want, not the mundane 9-5. 

There are plenty of resources online. Facebook, YouTube, Google, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest etc. Whatever you need, you’ll find it somewhere. Nothing is stopping you except your own imagination. Stop thinking, start doing. You’ll be happy you did. 

DISCLAIMER

This article is written in general terms and therefore cannot be relied on to cover specific situations; application of the principles set out will depend upon the particular circumstances involved and we recommend that you obtain professional advice before acting or refraining from acting on any of its contents.