Step 3
Identify your business idea and why it will be a success
What does your business idea look like?
This is your starting point. Before you get started in developing your business, you need to clearly identify what you see when you envision your idea as a fully-fledged business. This is not a business plan. It’s simply a snapshot of the business idea that you currently have in your mind. Describing your idea in detail will give you direction as you develop it into your business.
Think of aspects like the purpose of your business, what product/service you’re offering and how does your offering differ from what is already on the market or what value will it add etc.
Why will your business be a success?
You need to be the biggest advocate for your business and know exactly how and how your business will be a success. You should be able to identify 10 reasonably accurate reasons why your business idea is going to work.
What are your business values?
Every successful business has strong values. They are the things that you believe, as a business owner, are important in the way you live and work. They determine –
- How you will run your business
- How your customers will be treated
- How you will act as the owner
- How your staff should behave
- How work should be done
- How everyone should treat each other at work
Your values guide all of your business’s actions. We’ve listed 10 of the most important values to consider below.
It’s important for you to pick values that truly reflect what you strongly believe about running your business. You need to reflect on how you will truly live each value every day. For example, it’s not enough to believe that reliability is an important core value unless you reflect on exactly how you will show customers that you can be relied upon in any situation.
Top 10 values
- Passion
- Reliability
- Honesty
- Innovation
- A will to win
- Kindness
- Friendliness
- Uplift others
- Everyone counts
- Pride in our work
What does success mean to you?
Outlining what success means to you allows you to plan and shape your business strategy to achieve that success. There are many ways to define success. Success is never just one thing. It is usually a combination of money, your lifestyle, your family, your goals, your personal values, and what you hope to achieve with your business long-term. Here are some examples for you to consider:
- Running a highly profitable business; earning lots of money
- Being flexible and independent
- The freedom to shape your business around your life and other commitments
- Doing what you love and spending every day enjoying work
- Making a difference, whether that’s through helping people, helping animals, or helping the environment
- Not having to work full-time once your business gets to the point where you can hire staff to manage it for you
- Maintaining a healthy life/work balance
- Becoming a leading light in your industry
- Having a positive impact on your employees, customers, your community, and our planet while also earning enough money to live a comfortable life
What is your vision for your business?
What is driving you to bring your business idea to life is the vision you have of your business and the future – of where you want to be, what you aim to achieve, the success you’d like to enjoy, and the impact you’d like your new business to have on the world. That vision is extremely powerful – it is motivating and inspiring you to launch your business.
Capturing your vision in words and keeping it prominently displayed is absolutely critical. It will guide your strategy and give you clarity when making critical business decisions that impact your future. In business, there will always be something to test you. From the entry of a new competitor to a decline in profit margins, things that may throw you off will always happen. It is easy during anxious times like this not to make hasty or ill-advised decisions. This is where your vision statement is important. By referring to it, you can prevent your business from veering off course and heading in an entirely different – and potentially disastrous – direction.
Capturing your vision in words and keeping it prominently displayed is absolutely critical. It will guide your strategy and give you clarity when making critical business decisions that impact your future. In business, there will always be something to test you. From the entry of a new competitor to a decline in profit margins, things that may throw you off will always happen. It is easy during anxious times like this not to make hasty or ill-advised decisions. This is where your vision statement is important. By referring to it, you can prevent your business from veering off course and heading in an entirely different – and potentially disastrous – direction.