The First Step to Success

How to Choose a Big Brain Business Idea
 

Call it a revelation, an “aha moment” or the first clear thought you’ve had since you noticed playing video games wasn’t filling your bank account, but that instant when you start to imagine piles of cash flowing your way and slide of the mouse will change your life if you act on it.

But therein lies the rub...

Dreaming about big cash payouts in cyberspace and making them happen can separate quicker than water and vinegar when you dive in and put up a website for the first business that comes to mind.

Just because your uncle makes the coolest belt buckles in his basement and you want to share them with the world doesn’t mean a quick investment in a WordPress site will make both your dreams come true.

You need to vet any new idea to see if it has the kind of business legs that will help it to stand and run.

Why? Because business is business and just because your workplace is at home in front of a monitor and not behind a desk in an office with your name on the door doesn’t mean you can change all the rules. 

Research shows that only 37 percent of startups are operating after four years in the information sector which is one of the mainstays in the online arena. Add to that the numbers that show incompetence accounts for 46 percent of the failures and you’ll see why putting business blocks carefully in place begins with a tested idea.  

Don’t Let the Right Side of Your Brain Choose a Business for You

One of the biggest mistakes that new entrepreneurs make is thinking everyone loves the same things they do. That’s a wonderful way to look at life but a horrendous way to choose a startup. There’s a big difference between something you love and a product or service people will want to pay for.

The first thing that you need to do is to make sure any business idea is profitable. That doesn’t just mean Googling your business idea to see if there are others in the same market. Think about cash flow, too.

Working Capital

If you’re looking to undercut the competition by going cheaper, you need to make sure you’ve got the working capital to keep moving forward. So, doing the math is an important part of deciding if any business idea works.

You might even need to turn your glasses around and look at the whole issue with new lenses to see where the best business ideas are. Jumping right into those industries where there’s a buying rush is a great way to make sure you see the money and more of a left-brain logical maneuver. Exchanging your know-how and experience for money works well where there’s a demand.  

Remember that loyalty wanes when your business is online so you’ll need to plug in an idea that can keep expanding your base. Finding a starting point that you can imagine expanding and diversifying is helpful. You don’t need to have concrete goals in place for this initially, but a general idea of the direction you’d like to go in works.

Objective Look

Strive for a business that fits a demand that needs to be filled. Taking an objective look at your options helps. For example, a full 58 percent of businesses in finance, insurance, and real estate are still operating after four years. That goes down to 55 percent for services. 

Finally, remember that any good businessman knows that having a successful enterprise that passes that four-year hurdle means putting together a team. You’ll need advisors, more than likely an accountant, and maybe even a lawyer to keep an even business keel.  When the new venture is online, you need to have a web developer and some top-notch Internet Marketers to get the word out on the goods and services you’ve got to sell.