Top 17 steps for start-up idea validation.

You must have a unique idea or ideas, however bearing an idea and implementing it into a successful business are two different things. Before starting a new business setup, you must have an idea of whether your business in the market can sustain for a longer period of time?

Also, think that, is it the same business which you really want to do? Or you are influenced or impressed by others’ achievements in the same industry? Don’t forget, a Startup can be about a product or service that has mainly two pillars:

Normally when we have an idea, we end up investing so much of time and money into it without any research and that is the reason why we tend to fail. However; it is always important to validate your idea before investing money or time into it, which contains a deep research and should cover every aspect of the entire life cycle of the business.

We, normally keep thinking about research, design, production, purchase and supply, packaging, billing, shipping, customer service etc. However prior to that, you should always ask a question to yourself, “if you were a customer, would you buy this product or service?” or “Why customer will buy your product, not others’? ” In response, if you get any positive vibe, then you are on the right track. If not, then you need to prepare your strategy in order to receive the finest response.

So one thing comes to mind, how will you validate your idea? Is there any tool or step, by which you can be sure about it? The answer is: YES

Don’t Worry, I have not yet developed any software or hardware for the purpose. However, this can also be treated as a startup idea (if it is not available in the market)…Make a business validation tool … isn’t it. I have researched and analyze that, there are the few steps which can help you to validate your ideas and make it rock dynamically.

 

     Unique idea: If you think about any unique idea, google it to find a competitor. If you get any competitor, try to add some extra features which your competitor is not providing. But, do it now…

    Solution to a problem: It is very important that your startup should be about solving a general problem, which can be solved by your business only and people must be happy to use your product or service.

    Competition in the market: As mentioned above, try to google your idea and get some competitors. When you get many options, simply add some spicy and useful add-ons to the original one to make it work effectively.

    Pros and cons: Every business has some benefits and some flaws. You should always choose the best strategy and methods to reduce the mistakes and maximize the profit. However, it doesn’t happen overnight. So, plan for it with all the available resources.

    User category: This is a very important aspect of your startup. At times, people provide services or products which are used by a handful of the crowd but not all. Most of the people commit blunders over here. So you should always keep in mind the target audience; in terms of gender, caste, age, language, and location.

    Replication your business: When you start your business, at times many people can copy your business in a very short time and stand in front of you as a competitor. So it is always advisable to plan your strategy with the complete care and confidence. It is said that a business runs flawlessly for a time period of 6 months, after which the competitors get borne. So, you need to strategize accordingly for a long-term planning. In order to earn the maximum benefit quickly and create a good customer database, by providing excellent customer support.

    SWOT analysis: SWOT analysis helps a person or organization to identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats related to business competition or project planning. Based on these parameters you can easily strategize further activities. It is standardized industry wise and everyone follows it. Similarly, if you are not satisfied with any of the above features, just work on it day and night.

    Resources (Free / paid/ rent): When we think about any business, we always get in trouble with the resources which will be required in the course of production or future planning. It is always better to look for some free services or software initially so that you can enjoy your business setup with less capital. If your production requires physical products, go for rented one or refurbished ones to capture the market. Once your business is established, you can access the best options in the field.

    Landing page: Whether you are in services or products, a landing page is always necessary for today’s time to present your product/service online.  Always plan that how much time/ money will be required to make a landing page and add it to the account sheet.

    Beta version: Start making your beta version first, as quickly as possible. Since it requires multiple revisions to reach a final stage for shipping. By the time it is shipped, it might have several others features which were not included initially. So, it is important to note down everything before you hire a professional.

    Blueprint selling: Can you get a customer from blueprint only? If you have any unique idea and if you think that you can get the customers/ investors by only offering a blueprint. Just make it presentable as “whatever is appealing is sold”. Never reach out to any customer/ investor with negative thoughts. Be prepared for every question and cross-question. Also add a Non Disclosure Agreement with the project file, to save your idea.

    Marketing your product: It is a crucial part of any business on which entire revenue is dependent. It asks for a lot of money to market your product or service full-fledged. At times, it covers 70% of your total investment. This always requires a better understanding of the market and best customer service. There are multiple techniques available in the market like digital marketing, flyers, Advertisements on TV, Radio promotion, Email, Bulk SMS, and Tele calling. 

    You can choose any method as per your requirement and every method covers different packages.  Nowadays, the most popular and growing trend is digital marketing. Since it only requires money and fewer efforts for the people, to start getting leads easily. But if your business is all about the people who are not computer savvy, digitally sound or from rural areas, it would be a little harder to get the leads. Hence choose the marketing strategy in accordance with your target customers. 

    3 months investor planning: Everyone wants to have an investor to invest money into his business. If you also want to attract investors, it is always mandatory to run a business for at least 3 months with exponential growth to attract them and build a trust in your business. So that they can forecast future earning, based on your current/ last activities.

    Breakeven point: Starting a business can be complicated at times. Many of the entrepreneurs end up taking a loan for starting a business (rather than putting their own savings) and get stuck in debt. However, only a few of them get success. You must always think and plan accordingly that how soon you can get your money back, which you invested. This may require some calculations to sell your product or services in such a way, that it can break even after selling a no of a quantity of the product/ service. You can make your own targets to reach the desired goal and this can work as a milestone. If you cross your milestone, you will successfully end up learning each and everything about your business.

    How much investment needed?: It is always a puzzled question, which is asked by most of the investors before investing the money into your business. You must be ready for every question and appropriate reasons, for taking the money. Many of the entrepreneurs start adding their own expenditure ( Ferrari, Bungalow etc) into investment budget and present the same in front of the investor, which leads to the complete rejection at times. If you want to impress the investor, make an investment list logically which should be interconnected to your production.

    Backup funds: It is always recommended to save money for yourself and business expenditure ( Salary, maintenance, rent and other essential expenses ) for at least 3 months, which will keep you safe when you face a hard time running a business and the same should not hamper your life.

    Alternatives resource: Never ever remain dependent on others. If you are running your business, be ready with a new challenge at every step. If you get an overload of work or your employee/ partner get sick, you need to act as a helping hand. Are you ready to work on your employee/ partner behalf? If not, then learn it ASAP as it is required for you to succeed.

 These are the steps for validating your ideas. For sure, if you have gone through the steps, you will never take a back seat in any business. Best of Luck !!!