Picking the best idea for a business...

Imagine that you have several possible business ideas, of which you want to narrow it down to one or perhaps two to pursue.

How do you go about this - what criteria do you use to narrow down the list? What sort of questions should you ask when sounding out a business idea?

Any thoughts very gratefully received!

Sarah

Re : Picking the best idea for a business

You could ask questions from various angles, for instance:

Business Questions:
Which one has the most/least competition?
Which requires the most/least money and time to start it up?

...and many, many more...

Personal Skills:
Which businesses play to your strengths?
Which business ideas are you most passionate about?
Which would offer you the most development?

That's just a few questions you could ask to help define your business ideas off the top of my head

Dan
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Web Design

Re : Picking the best idea for a business

Go with what you can imagine yourself doing in a couple of years time, and still loving it irrespective of how much profit you have made.

If there is an idea that you think you will only enjoy in the good times then scrap it, since the reality of business is that times are never always good - well with perhaps one or two notable exceptions!

I would say that - passion - is the key criteria. Once you have got those ideas then look at the financials and business side of the idea to see if things stack up as Dan rightly suggests above.

Chris

Re : Picking the best idea for a business

Look at how competitive and crowded the market is. If there are other established businesses doing exactly the same as you for instance then it will be very hard to compete.

Try and find a niche that has not been exploited yet - though of course that is easier said than done; or at least approach a tried and tested area from a fresh direction.

Good luck!

Tim