You might be thinking of great business ideas all the time. You might make plans, search for tools, research competition, and make all the necessary moves to implement your ideas. However, at the same time, you might have a hard time finding one idea that sticks out the most. When there are so many concepts flowing around in your mind, finding something to be truly passionate about can be challenging. There’s always that notion of “what if?” What if you chose the other option? Would it have worked better and if yes, would it have brought you more money? Would have helped more people? What if it would have made things easier for you in the long run?

Here is a guideline on how to create a successful business idea and stick to it. Let us know if you have anything else to add – we’re always open to suggestions.

Check with your family

The first thing you can do when choosing your perfect business idea is to check with the people around you and ask for feedback. Your family is probably the best place to begin your research. What do they think of the concept that you came up with? Will they use it? And if so, how often? If one of your parents is already involved in the business world, don’t hesitate to learn from them. Don’t let your ego keep you away from that. Be open to receiving productive feedback from your family; and don’t insist on creating a new business if your parent’s business is already thriving. You might want to make a name for yourself – that is absolutely great! But you can still make that happen by getting involved in the family business.

To summarize, check with your family on your ideas, get the necessary feedback, and don’t refuse to cooperate with your parents if they’re already involved in the business field.

Ask your friends

The next thing to do is ask your friends about your product or service, as they will be honest about it. You could ask them for feedback, since they have a clearer understanding of the popular trends around them. Listen to your friends’ business ideas and take mental notes. What would they do if they could and why? What are some of the problems they need solutions to? What are their skills? Would they be potentially able to help you with your business and if yes, how? Maybe you have some IT geniuses among your friends who could help you create your website.

Look at your own needs

What bugs you? What do you want to see changed in this world? Is there anything that could work better, from your perspective and according to your own needs? Listen to yourself but also, the people around you. What are they in need of changing? What do they want? Observe your environment and gather data on the products and services that could work better. Look at marketing practices and notice where they might lack the necessary knowledge to improve. Do your research on the niche that you are most interested in to see what opportunity for growth there is. What do you observe that could go better here?

Check your interests, status, and goals

Check what you’re good at and interested in and then ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you see a real need for your proposed idea in the present market?
• Are your skills good enough to excel in this domain?
• Are you knowledgeable enough to train people on it?
• What is your intent beyond making money? What other social problem could you solve by implementing your business idea?
• What are you motivated by and how will you keep up with market expectations? Do you have a plan?
• Do you require financing, or do you already have the money necessary to start your own business from scratch?
• What is your advantage over your competition? Having an interest in something you’re selling is an advantage in itself, but what else?
• Will you be working alone or in a team?

Travel as much as you can

Traveling is a great way to open your eyes to the needs and wants of people. By traveling, you find out an enormous chunk of information that you can then later use. You will get comfortable being out of your comfort zone, first of all, and explore how other people and cultures think and react to various trends. You can learn a whole lot from pursuing an MBA or sitting in a Business Analytics classroom, but nothing can compare to getting hands-on experience on the matter. You will gather essential information and experience by traveling around the world to notice and note what people need.

Build on pre-existent ideas  

If your idea is already taken, don’t give up! There is no reason for you to become disappointed and just let your ideas drown. What you should do is build on pre-existing concepts and make them better! Most of the ideas out there are already taken, so getting your hopes up about something you’re probably not authentically creating is naive. Successful business owners take these ideas and improve them to their best ability.

Having competitors can be a great thing if you know how to understand this concept. If you have competition, it means that your idea has already been approved within the market. That means you won’t have to promote as much as you’d have to if it were completely new. Make sure you understand what people want and how you can influence the market in that direction. Once you understand what customers stand for and what their preferences are, you can make the necessary changes to attract them.

Sleep on it

After you’ve done your research and thought about your business possibilities, sleep on it. Make sure you pay attention to yourself and your wants once again. Determine if you are willing to sacrifice yourself for the well-being of your business and determine your stopping point – how far will you go? Are you prepared for it?

Take your business online

If you are ready to go, then propose an online plan and get started. Take it out for a trial to ensure that customers like your product or service. Once you get the desired results, scale it to a larger audience.

Conclusion

There are so many questions out there when it comes to choosing a successful business idea. So many hypotheses to consider and reflect upon. The process is not easy to complete. However, there are only two mistakes you can make – not starting and not going all the way through with it.

Meet the Author

John Peterson is a journalist with 4 years of experience working in London magazine “Shop&buy”. He plays professional mini-tennis whenever he does not receive write my essay notifications, and he has written a novel, “His Heart”. You can find him on Facebook.