A Real Opportunity or Just Another Crazy Idea?

Market? Margin? Me?
Those are the three questions that my students hear over and over when they come to me with new ideas. One of the most important keys to becoming a successful entrepreneur is learning how to ask and assess these three questions. This is not the stuff of some full blown business plan. It begins, instead, with a simple, common sense look at the market.
StartupJounral explores the “Market?” question recommending that potential entrepreneurs use easy to gather data, that often is right at their finder, tips to validate their ideas. Talk to people in the industry. If you don’t come across as selling they are usually happy to give you their opinions. Use the Web to gather information on major trends that may help or hurt your idea over the coming years. And get to know how your potential customers think and what is really important to them in making purchasing decisions.
Find out if the idea is a non-starter before you invest your time and other people’s money in the deal. Learn to fail on paper.