New Business Ideas Need Testing

Hi, Welcome! I’m Elizabeth Conley and I set up this site to help and support people who want to work from home as I know that setting up a business from home can be isolating and frustrating at times. If you’re just thinking about a change then check out this video by a good friend and coach Andrea Lindsay on, making a career change part 1.

Every business starts with an idea. Not every new business idea is original, but every entrepreneur remembers the “eureka” moment when they realise they could offer a brand new product, or provide the same products with better service or an unusual approach.

If you didn’t think you had a good idea, you wouldn’t dream of investing your time and money into business. But, really, it doesn’t matter what you think.

However excited you are by your idea, the truth is that other people will determine your success. Can you find other people that see the potential in your idea and are willing to invest their money? How about partners that will be driven to perform at their best?

Most importantly, will you be able to find customers that fall in love with your idea and choose to spend their money with you?

There is little else more important than testing your business idea and getting honest, upfront feedback. Read on to find out how.

The Importance Of Feedback On Your Business Idea

When we evaluate our own business ideas, we usually ask ourselves a simple question: “Would I spend my own money on this?” Of course, what really matters is that lots of people would spend their money.

In 1999, three friends developed some smoothie recipes that they loved. There was no major brand offering smoothies in the supermarket environment, and these three men had come up with incredible concoctions that they would happily buy themselves.

But they did not settle for their own opinion. They put their idea to the test.

The trio spent £500 on fruit and sold their drinks at a music festival. Every customer could put their empty bottle in one of two bins labelled “yes” and “no”. The question they were answering was “Should we quit our day jobs and make smoothies?”

The response was an astounding yes and so, true to their word, the team resigned from their jobs and founded a new company to make and sell smoothies. The company was called Innocent.

The founders of Innocent had an inkling that they were on to a good idea and made products that they loved. Crucially, though, they understood the importance of feedback and put their business idea to the test before they went ahead.  For more information on how to get valid feedback check out the post Business Ideas Need Feedback.

Places To Get Business Idea Feedback

Of course, not every business idea can be road-tested with a box of fruit and a stall. For most of us, the best method is simply to ask for independent opinions.

Many people begin by asking friends and family to evaluate the business idea. However, our friends and families are hardly the most independent source of feedback.

Some more effective places to get feedback could be:

• Business Mentors (to find one, try MentorsmeUK)
• Online Business Forum (for example, UK Business Forums)
• Business Networking Groups (for example, 4Networking)
• Social Media Followers on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin

For a great list of places to ask for feedback, check out this article from Startups.co.uk – Sources of Feedback on Your Business Idea.  Setting up any new business involves taking a risk. To help understand yours check out this article Setting-up-a-business-risk

Crowd Funding – The Ultimate Test

The internet puts thousands of opinions at your fingertips. We are all connected to a giant source of independent and honest feedback and, with the growth of crowd-funding sites, there is no excuse for not testing your business idea.

What makes a crowd-funding site such an effective test is that people have to do more than just like your idea – they put their money where their mouth is.

By posting your business idea to a crowd-funding site, you will expose your idea to thousands of people, any of whom can invest their own money into your business. This is the ultimate test that a true market exists for your products or services, and happens to be an excellent way to gain initial investment too!

Be sure to check out Kickstarter.com and Crowdcube.com to find out more.  If you would like to know more about alternative funding sources check out this article http://homeforbusiness.co.uk/start-up-funding-resources/.

If you found this article useful then tell us by liking it.  What’s your best way for testing out business ideas and coming up with a winner? Please share in the comment below.