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A good business idea is only a starting point for further exploration of a market. There are many factors you must make informed assumptions on when building your business. Ideally you’re testing these assumptions before launching. In this stage you’ll find resources that will help you research and test different aspects of your business model.
Research
How to conduct market research?
The quality of your market research rests on the methodology you chose to employ. Depending on the research method used, your data may lead you to the wrong conclusions. Review market research best practices here:
Understanding your customers
Customers aren’t always people – they can be governments, businesses and other organizations too. In designing your product or service, you want to account for your customer’s viewpoints, habits, needs and preferences.
Understanding your competitors
The value of your business is always relative to what your competitors are doing. Understanding their market position, offering and strategy should always be a prerequisite to crafting your own.
Franchising and Buying an Existing Business
Instead of starting a business from scratch, leveraging the equity of an existing brand is an option with many positives. However, it’s important to be aware of the risks involved as well so you can mitigate them.
What are the operational requirements for starting my business?
There are many logistical considerations that require market research. Whether it’s choosing a location, suppliers, or distribution channels, be sure to evaluate your options before signing the dotted line.
What are the legal requirements for starting my business?
Navigating the law to ensure your business is compliant can be time consuming and expensive, but not doing so can be a lot more costly.
Testing
How to test my business concept and assumptions:
To ensure that you’ve derived the right conclusions from your market research, be sure to test your assumptions. Similar to market research, the quality of the data generated depends on how you design the tests.
Don’t be discouraged if your tests bring back negative results. This will help you make necessary pivots to your business model, and reveal additional research questions to consider.
