Resources for Young Entrepreneurs
Research the market
What do you need to know?
Before diving straight into the market research, it is a good idea to take some time to think about what you need to know. Wading through magazines or doing a questionnaire on the street is very time consuming – so you might as well be sure you are asking the right questions. A good way to do this is to ask yourself these three key questions, which cover the main things you will need to know.
1. Customers – can I get enough of them, and will they pay me enough to be profitable?
2. Competitors – will I be able to compete with those businesses already in the market?
3. Operations – do I have the ability and resources to meet the need of the customers?
You should find these will generate a longer list of more specific questions that you need to answer before you can start-up in business. There might be 30-40 different questions to answer – try to be as specific as possible on each point.
Key Information
Customers:
- What type of person/business?
- How much spending power?
- Will this rise or fall?
- How do I let them know about my service/product?
- What do they want from my service/product?
Competitors:
- What do they charge?
- Are there gaps in the market?
- Is anyone doing this already?
- Is anyone else likely to muscle in?
- What methods/equipment do they use?
Operations:
- How much will I charge?
- What level of funding will I need?
- What specialist skills are needed?
- Where can I get funding?
- What equipment is necessary?
- What specialist regulations will I need to meet?
How do you find out the answers to these questions?
There are basically two sources of information:
1. Other people’s research – Desk
2. Your own research – Field
