Top 5 Questions Aspiring Entrepreneurs Should Ask When Starting a Business
- Brian Zingo
- Mar 3, 2023
- 3 min read
Brian M. Zingo founder & CEO Venture Pilot
So, you have an amazing idea? It keeps you up at night and you absolutely know that this is the service or product that will be an instant hit. You have already thought about several names and can see the logo burning at the back of your brain. This is it, the million dollar vehicle you have been waiting for to get you away from the 9-5 grind and into the driver’s seat of a plush new profitable business.
The problem with this idealistic utopia of an entrepreneurs daydream is how businesses work in reality and a lack of planning leading to disappointment and paralyzing fear. These ideas rarely make it to the marketplace and when they do, the outcome isn’t quite what the business owner expected. This is why we created Venture Pilot (www.venture-pilot.com) – to take the guess work out of launching a business. But that is not the main topic of this blog.
What I am going to show you are the top 5 questions you should be asking yourself and answering as the idea forms to better position the business and your idea for success. Here we go:
1. What problem am I actually solving?
Often time’s entrepreneurs are so focused on the finished product or service that they skip this crucial question. Instead, they assume the majority of people will have an innate desire for what they sell because it appeals to them and close friends & family. A great general rule is to assume no one wants your product or service, they want to solve a problem they are experiencing. Start with a compelling problem statement, Startups.com offers a great walk through with examples. Then always refer back to the problem for answering questions that arise along the way, especially in your marketing. This will give you the foundation for all of your messaging and truly tap into your personal mission for creating the business.
2. How does my product or service make money?
This is a commonly overlooked question in the beginning stages of a business. With a heightened level of excitement and general sense of urgency to get to market, new entrepreneurs forget that profit margin is how you fund the business to keep the lights on and grow and scale operations. Find out exactly how money will come into the business and what percentage of that cash flow will be profit. Estimations are OK in the beginning but be sure not to exaggerate them. Ask someone in the industry who is already running a successful operation similar to yours or even your product manufactures.
3. Why am I committed to long hours and certain disappointment?
Notice that this question assumes there is hard work and eventual disappointment. New entrepreneurs severely underestimate how much work starting and building a business takes. Especially in those early days when you’re the only one at the helm, the amount of work can be overwhelming. What pulls you though is your reason and mission for the business in the first place. Take time to write about your ‘why’ and refer back to it, especially when the going gets tough!
4. How will people know about my product and will they care?
If no one knows who you are your product is, they cannot and will not buy it. That seems a bit too simple, right? The truth is we often times overestimate how great our offer is and assume the product or service offer will speak for itself and people will rush to line up and buy. This fallacy is deeply rooted in many entrepreneurs’ hesitations and fears that it causes many to simply walk away when they were on the verge of a breakthrough. Be realistic in your expectations – you may not get a sale in the first day, week, or month. Develop a compelling offer and send messages out about how you solve your customer’s problem in a way that delivers more value than the competition and your message will eventually drive in sales!
5. Will my idea be relevant 5+ years from now?
Truly do your research on this one. Asking just friends and family will leave you with mostly biased responses. You may want to look at secondary research that others have completed on your industry and see if there is staying power and longevity for what you sell. If not, can you adapt your offer to change with trends in the marketplace? If the answer is no, then fine tune the idea to better match what the marketplace will support or develop a long-term strategy to adapt with an ever changing consumer base.
Keep in mind - there are many more questions that need to be answered and these are simply the most common we have encountered. If you would like some help launching your idea visit www.venture-pilot.com and work with a proven leader in start up launch!