Conducting Feasibility of Business Ideas - A Guide for Entrepreneurs
Des H Rikhotso (PgDip-BA) (MBL) 🇿🇦
Group Chief Executive Officer I NED | Sales & Marketing I Automotive I Automotive Aftermarket I Logistics I Fleet Management I Petroleum I Construction | Consulting Academic I Independent Trustee | Sub-Sahara Africa
Conducting Feasibility of Business Ideas - A Guide for Entrepreneurs
4 Essential Questions to ask:
A feasibility study is a general examination of the potential of a business idea to be converted into a business enterprise.
To determine the feasibility of business ideas, as entrepreneurs we must genuinely ask ourselves the following 4 important Questions:
1. Do you want to do what the idea suggest?
Here you check whether you have the energy and time to pursue the idea, whether your family understands and support the idea of you getting into business and whether this is the best idea among the ideas you have selected.
2. Is there a market for the idea?
It is important at this stage to know who the consumers will be, and whether they are sufficient in numbers to sustain the demand.
How the consumers will pay for the product or services must be established as well as what it is you are offering which will attract consumers to you rather than the competitors.
3. Can you meet the needs of the Consumers?
Here the entrepreneur must check his/her capacity in meeting the needs of the consumer in terms of the skills, quantity of and quality of the product, financial capital, human resources and human capital required.
The source of funds needs to be determined as well as how those funds are expected to last.
4. Can you communicate the idea to the Customers?
In this section, the focus is on getting the message across to the consumers.
Some knowledge about the behavior of the customer is required i.e a thorough understanding of the consumer behavior.
Knowledge is required about how your target customers perceive your products or services.
If your answer is yes to each of the above Key 4 Questions, then you are ready to conduct a Business Viability Test before you invest time, energy and resources in a Formal Business Plan.
Des H Rikhotso
Consulting Academic Lecturer (Entrepreneurship): Management College of Southern Africa (MANCOSA)
Cell: 076 538 7905 Email: des@hdrgroup.co.za
Bachelor of Administration (UWC), Post Graduate Diploma in Management - Business Administration (WBS), Certificate in Product Strategy & Brand Management (WBS), Masters in Business Leadership 3 (Unisa SBL)