Test the Waters of Your New Business Idea Before Diving in Head First

Photo by JohnONolan

New business ideas are exciting. They invigorate you. New business ideas are great, but in case you didn't know... ideas are a dime a dozen and are worthless if you don't have what it takes to execute the idea. Think about it... with nearly 7 billion people in the world, the chances are someone, somewhere has come up with your same great business idea. Even if your idea is unique and has unfathomable potential, it doesn't matter unless you have the skills and focus to execute.

Of course ideas do matter and make a huge difference. I certainly don't want to down play the value of starting with a good idea. If you start with a poor business idea then you'll definitely waste a lot of time, energy, and money, but all too often people put too much value into ideas and not much thought towards the execution of their ideas. Great execution will produce great results from good ideas and outstanding results from great ideas. Poor execution will produce poor results from great ideas and abysmall results from good ideas.

Getting to the point... if you have a great idea for a new business then stop fantasizing about the fortune you'll make and get down to the business of figuring out if you can execute the idea. How do you know if you can succeed? Well, there's no guarantee for success but you can certainly test the waters to see if it's even going to be worth your while. Here's a simple example.

Earlier I wrote about a new business idea for a cupcake and coffee store. Before you take out a loan, rent a building, etc... you could easily do a low cost test to determine if you have what it takes to execute and if there is a market in your area that will buy your cupcakes and coffee.

1. Make up several batches of cupcakes. You are planning to go into the cupcake business afterall so if you can't do the core task of your business and can't find a wholesale bakery then stop... no need to proceed further.

2. If you can whip up some tasty cupcakes then take them around to various businesses and give them away for free. Leave your name, email address and phone number.

3. Wait. If you don't get any calls or emails then go back to the drawing board with your cupcake recipe or face the facts and pursue another business opportunity.

You may think this is common sense advice and you're right, but people frequently invest their life savings or take out big loans to pursue their business ideas without taking basics steps to figure out if they can execute. Never stop dreaming but do be honest with yourself and never roll the dice on your financial future if you don't have the skills or patience and work ethic to develop the skills to execute your idea.