Chapter 17 Ten Ways to Evaluate a New Business Idea In This Chapter Making sure your business idea is the right one for you Testing whether your idea stands a good chance of achieving success | H ii Chapter 17 Ten Ways to Evaluate a New Business Idea In This Chapter Making sure your business idea is the right one for you Testing whether your idea stands a good chance of achieving success very business venture starts with an idea. It may be as simple as opening Awa shop that features local artwork or as complex as creating a company that offers space vacations. Either way your success depends on the strength of your idea how well it fits your temperament how well you can plan for success and what resources you can bring to the effort. Before settling and taking your first steps consider this list of 10 questions that you absolutely positively need to ask about your business idea before you take the big plunge. Is This Something 1 Really Want to Do Running your own company is more than just a job. For most successful entrepreneurs it s a full-time passion. The people most likely to succeed are ones who truly believe in their ideas care about the products or services that they offer and love what they do even when the going gets tough. Take a moment to think about what it will take to turn your idea into a business and what running that business will be like. Is your heart in it Is it something you really care about Is it how you want to spend your time If you answer all the questions with an enthusiastic Yes read on. If not maybe you need to go back to brainstorming see Chapter 2 . H ii 298 Part V The Part of Tens Is This Something I m Capable of Doing Thomas Edison called genius 1 percent inspiration 99 percent perspiration. Your idea is a stroke of inspiration but do you have what it takes to sweat out the details and do the hard work required to turn your inspiration into reality Beyond desire do you have the capability In other words can you do it Do you have the resources connections skills and experience to turn your idea into a success story And if you don t have everything required to do the job well do you
