Simple Guide to Validate your Business Ideas

Throughout the different stages an entrepreneur faces, I love when we’re defining business ideas. This is the stage where you can be imaginative, creative and more. The sky is the limit and you should analyze every single idea, no matter how crazy or dumb it seems. And when you’re a dreamer, such as me, you just have to love this idea creating process.

However not everything can de crazy ideas. At some point you have to seat down and validate which ideas will work, and which won’t. Maybe some crazy ideas will work, but you have to make a couple of adjustments. This is not always easy, that’s why I have created a simple process where you can start by thinking great ideas and then validate them.

Here is the process I mentioned earlier. If you have additional steps or want to modify something, please do so at the end of this page on the Comments section.

 

Don’t do this process alone

I have found that the best results of creating business ideas come when several people participate. This can be as easy as asking your life partner, a family member or a friend to join in. Ideally one of the participants has to be a dreamer and the other a more down to earth person. This will create a perfect equilibrium and that’s what we’re looking for.

 

Dream on

Just as the song goes, I want you to dream as much as possible. In this stage there are no constrains and all ideas are valid. Actually, at this point the crazier the idea, the better it will be. Keep record of your ideas in a piece of paper or on your computer, using software such as Microsoft Word, Excel or a Mind Map tool.

 

Search for practical ideas

In the last step all ideas were welcome. Now we’re going to filter ideas and here is where having two or more people really pays off. Evaluate every idea and if it’s not practical, eliminate it. For this process to work you have to leave your feelings apart.

 

What are other doing?

With your list of ideas, research what others have thought about them and what they’re doing. If your idea is 100% unique and new, think of a related product and analyze what other companies have done in the past. Among others, ask how are they selling the product/service, how much are they charging for it and where do they sell them?

 

Write down first conclusions

As a result of this exercise you must be able to write some conclusions. Some ideas have been discarded while others have been validates. Repeat all these steps as many times as you need to create this perfect idea.

 

Validate your idea concept

Now after you reach your conclusions, take your idea to other entrepreneurs, businessmen and potential customers. What do they think about your business idea? Are they willing to buy from you? If this questions fails you might need to go back to the drawing board and restart this process. If it goes well, now you’re much closer to a successful product.

Image taken from Flickr.com