Uncovering Information and Researching Opportunities...Put On Your Sherlock Hat!

"The soul never thinks without a mental picture" - Arisotle

Your business idea will begin life as a blurred picture or a razor sharp vision. Either way you'll continually refine it during your research and planning stages. Like a seed that you water with information to make it grow.
You flesh it out; research 360 degrees from evaluating suppliers and competitors to customers, costs, demand, supply and quality. You uncover the value and strength of the idea, along with the areas of weakness or threats, the obstacles and challenges. The bottom line? Market research saves you time in the long run. Being prepared and knowledgeable about your market, your audience, your product or service is crucial.
You structure your research and collate your findings in a co-ordinated manner into a valuable research document. This will feed into your branding, marketing and business planning stages and affect your decision-making.
You uncover what will set you apart from your competitors, what makes you unique (your unique selling points) and helps you stand out from the crowd.

Why Research?

Do you know who your potential customers are? Where they are? How to reach them?

Market research is a core business requirement for any start up and when done well and effectively can save you time and energy in the long run.

What to Research

You need to sit down and ask yourself some core questions: Such as:

Who are my customers?
What people am I trying to reach, cater for?
Where are my customers geographically?
What is the age range and financial position?
Where should I open, close, expand my stores or product outlets?
Which products suit my chosen geographic area or customer base?
What resourses do I need - how do I allocate these resources?
What factor affects the performance of my business?
Who are my competitors?

When collecting information from Data Sources, you may want to access:

Demographics: Age, Family Structure, Ethnicity, Religion, Health and Culture.
Finance: Income, Shares, Savings, Borrowing and Spending.
Socio-Economics: Occupation, Industry, Employment, Education and Status.
Internet/Web: Access, Frequency of Use, Behaviour and Favourites.
Property: Housing Type, Housing Age, House Price, Tenure, Amenities, Non/2nd/Residence.

Where to Research

The ultimate market research information source is the Census - undertaken by the Government every 10 years (the last census was in 2001). You can get access to a limited amount of free market research info here.

You can also buy Market Research - There are many different organisations that buy in census data and combine this with other market research data sources to create off the shelf and bespoke products that can be leased or brought outright by a business. The following are great links that will supply you with up to data market information in your business arena: Resources.

Qualitative Research and Feedback

TALK to people about your idea. Speak to potential customers, suppliers, friends, partners and so on. They will provide you with feedback on your idea. However, remember that many people told the world leaders their ideas weren't any good, so if you know your idea is good and have the research to back it up, you can prove doubters wrong.
HAVE people sign a Confidentiality Agreement to deter them from telling others or running off and doing it themselves.
RECORD both the negative and positive responses. Find out what people like best about your idea and maintain this factor as a key selling point when telling others. Use the positive energy to motivate yourself and drive it forward.
MANAGE the negative responses, by assessing the individual's concerns and portrayed risks. Turn negative energy into positive feedback by communicating or redefining your idea which takes into account this criticism.

Bootstrapping

Gaining first hand research experience, from working in an industry that is similar to your own, working for a competitor or becoming a competitor's customer, is a great way to:

GAIN an insight into a potential of the market/industry.
SEE and learn how it operates.
IDENTIFY opportunities for improvement plus strengths and weaknesses in operating a business of kind.

Assess Time and Financial Worth

Speak to business owners who run similar ventures.

Find out about the time and investment required, and the associated outputs. Critically assess the time and value you can input into making the idea work.

Starting a business is hard work and generally takes more time than anyone initially imagines. Once you've invested significant time and resources, you will want to see it through, which can take many years.

Good preparation will help you make the most of the time you spend in reaching your business goals and heading in the right direction.

If you need time to reflect on your findings and find your niche with the Positive Action Coaching Programme or Business Idea Workshops.

Now you've done your homework... So are you ready to take the plunge?

What is self employment like and are you ready for it?