Before you start a business, you need to know who you’re starting it for. Starting a company is an extremely risky business, and if you don’t have your business model and your deliverables sorted out before operations begin, there may be little hope for you. So if you’re considering getting into the business of business, remember to ask yourself these questions to make sure that not only will your business be viable, it will be something you actually want to do.
Will this business solve a problem that real people have?
The best way to know if a company is going to get off the ground is to do your research and investigate whether you’re actually solving problems or if you’re just contributing to the noise in the world. This is perhaps the simplest and most honest question you can ask about your own work. If your product or service isn’t helping people, what is it doing?
Is this idea financially doable?
This question is important for several reasons. First, you need to know if you actually have the money to found the company and make it work. It’s very common for businesses to fail before they even get anywhere simply because they don’t have the funding. It’s important that you know now if you have secured enough capital or if you have enough money of your own to start a company.
Second, is the market at a good enough place that your business will take off? Is there enough opportunity? “The important thing to focus on is competition,” says Ben Koren, founder and CEO of Frameology. “If you are the only person offering a particular good or service, your life is going to be much, much easier, and your business is much more likely to succeed.”
Are you the right person for the job?
Just having a good idea does not necessarily mean it can take off, or that you’re the right person to get things going. Starting a company is a lot—a lot—of work. If you aren’t that you can do it better than anyone else, maybe this isn’t the right time, or the right idea, to build a business. And even if you’re sure you can do it best, are you willing? Are you passionate about what you’re doing? Will it be different than your competition? Okay, so this is really a series of questions, but they connect to the overall question: are you right for it?
