Whether it’s a new product, a new service, a new division or a brand new business, people often come to us with ideas they want to explore. The challenge isn’t coming up with a new business idea, it’s knowing which ones are worth pursuing.

One of the questions I get asked most often is, “Do you think this business idea will work?”

What people are really asking is, “Should I continue exploring this idea?”

That’s exactly why I developed the Business by Design workshop and accompanying worksheet. It’s a simple framework that helps you work through the right questions before investing too much time, money or resources. By the time you’ve completed it, you’ll have a much better understanding of whether the idea is worth continuing to explore.

Watch the video below for the full walkthrough or keep reading for the key points.

 

 

work through the right questions

 

The worksheet starts with a few simple questions:

Why does this business need to exist?

What’s the vision? What are you trying to achieve?

Next, I like to look at the competition. Is there already something similar on the market? What’s going to make this business different? What value are customers going to be looking for?

Your point of difference is what will drive a lot of your marketing and branding decisions.

From there, start thinking about who’s going to be interested in your product or service. Where do those people hang out?

That’s where the strategic side of the idea starts to come together.

 

turn strategy into action

 

Once you’ve worked through the strategy, it’s time to get operational.

What’s going to be important to make this business a success?

How much capital is the business going to need? Will you need equipment? Are there particular people or skills you’ll need to make it work?

Then think about the barriers. What’s likely to get in the way of this business becoming a success?

Knowing what could get in the way gives you the opportunity to plan for those challenges before they become real problems.

Before you finish, I always encourage people to think about the stakeholders.

Why do they want to do this? What’s in it for them?

Understanding everyone’s motivation early can help avoid problems later on.

 

don’t overlook the profit formula

 

The last part of the worksheet is one of the most important.

How is this business actually going to make money?

It doesn’t need  to be precise at this stage, but it’s a good thing to think about at this stage. Will it be a high-volume, low-margin business? Or a high-margin, low-volume business?

You don’t need all the answers yet, but you do need to understand what type of business you’re building and whether it makes commercial sense.

These are all important things to think about before deciding whether the idea is worth pursuing.

 

final thoughts

 

The purpose of the Business by Design Workshop and Worksheet isn’t to tell you whether an idea is good or bad. It’s to help you ask the right questions before deciding whether it’s worth pursuing further.

Sometimes you’ll walk away ready to move forward. Sometimes you’ll realise the idea needs more work.

Either way, you’ll be in a much better position to answer one important question: “Should I continue exploring this idea?”

 

we’re here to help

Download the Business by Design Worksheet and have a go at working through the framework yourself. If you’d like some guidance or would prefer to work through it together in one of our facilitated strategic workshops, we’d love to help.

Reach out to me at j.knight@businessdepot.com.au or give us a buzz on 1300 BDEPOT.

[Download Worksheet]

 

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