How to decide on the right business idea

Some of us naively think that the best solution to becoming financially secure, it is to set up a small business that generates income. However, the harsh reality is that it takes more than dreams and a good idea to be successful. I would like to share some considerations that are important to consider in order to pursue the right business idea in a world that is overflown with information. I have given you two initial steps in a previous blog post called ‘Two useful methods to determine if your business ideas are successful’. Here it is a continuation of those ideas:

Don’t generalise and specialise

I am a big fan of movies that present entrepreneurial and marketing ideas and stories. One of my favourites is the founder, the story of how McDonald’s transformed in the successful franchise model it is today. My favourite part of this film, it is when the two McDonald brothers narrowed down a massive food menu to their most popular items of burgers and milkshakes in order to offer a better customer service.

Similarly, I went through the same things in one of my own personal venture called Exotik; a south American restaurant in Newtown, Sydney. Our mission was to give our customers a place to celebrate and experience a real Latino vibe by offering the best Latin American food, music and service. However, we started with a menu that included too many items that ended up generating a lot of wastage and service delays.

With this in mind, we decided to focus on those dishes that sold well, with names that our clients could read easily. This was not a trouble-free process and in fact, it took years and a lot of sales and cost data analysis, as well as meeting with specialists such as chefs and hospitality managers. The main advantage of understanding what you are good at, it is that the quality of your work will improve, and you can stand out among your competitors.

Observe trends and reinvent the traditional business models

I believe that business ideas can come from observing the world and thinking outside the box. Therefore, it is important to be aware of consumer behaviours and new trends as we are living in a VUCA world which is an acronymous that stands for volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous society that is hard to predict.

In other words, there is a market disruption where consumers do not have the same past consumer behaviours. Hence, companies such as GoGet, notice that a big percentage of the population is not concerned about owning an automobile. This trend leads to a business model reinvention with an alternative at a low cost for those interest in leasing a car for a getaway or specific moments.

Similarly, products or services have multiple or hybrid functions. Therefore, companies such as Fitbit and Apple are aware of this trend and how this can be used to their advantage. In this case, both companies observe that many give a high importance to fitness so these business innovate with a product that combines the use of a watch and a tracking system that keeps track of your physical activity during the day.

In short, concentrate on your ideas and be informed of those trends that are relevant in the current world. These two steps can help you to identify and come up with smart business ideas to pursue.

Feel free to leave me your experience in the comments of how these two steps help you to successfully think in your business ideas.