How do I take my Business Ideas Further?

Below I will outline the best procedure for exploiting new business ideas.

Types of Startup Business

There are two types of business start-ups. The first is usually someone who decided to start a business, and then evaluates the possibilities, franchising, internet local store etc. These people are the backbone of our commercial system. Like all business there are risks involved, although careful preparation can reduce these, indeed later topics on this site equally apply to these business people.

Here are some ideas for Small Business Start-ups for those who need some stimulation.

The second type of start-up is usually someone who sees an opportunity in everyday life, the idea may be exclusive to you or something commonly known but not seen in a commercial light by other people. It may also be exclusive to you and you wish to keep it that way.

Protect Your Idea

Therefore, the first problem is to get someone to help, this could be a lawyer, accountant banker etc. but not let them know the details of the Business Idea. Unfortunately, in my experience this is not possible. The preferred way of going about this is to consult a specialist in the industry where your idea belongs and ask him or her to complete a confidentiality agreement. If the person consulted is used to advising on ideas then this should be no problem and normally they will be able to supply the correct form of agreement for your legal person to look over.

Confidentiality agreements are quite 'leaky' and difficult to enforce, particularly internationally and if your finances are limited. The best test is to go to a specialist with many years experience who has a record of accomplishment or recommended by an existing client. Have a look on the net to see the founding year of the business, poor advisors will not usually last long.

It may also be the case that you personally have experience in the realm of your Business Idea, in which case I would suggest discussing the idea with a trusted friend initially.

Many people take their idea to one of the large international accountancy or legal partnerships such as KPMG or similar. If the idea is not within the accountancy or legal field then often these companies will involve a specialist, such as I, this just adds another layer onto the project that also adds a further communication layer and costs.

The Crunch!

Right, now you have probably the most difficult point have a consultation or meeting with the specialist you engage, there should be no cost associated with this first meeting, outline the idea to him and ask if he or she believes it to be credible. Usually an experienced person will be quite critical, testing your sincerity, your capability to see it through and the feasibility of the idea.

By the end of this meeting you will either be happy knowing that it was a good Business Idea or sadness having been told that it is already on the market in some other form, or that it has been tried before and not work or one of the many negative replies you could have.

Now you have to decide if the idea is good or not, here is a couple of Business Ideas that have been successful in the past.

It is beneficial to you and your project if you develop a Business Concept, this will help to clarify things in your own mind and my feeling is that, if you cannot write your idea down on paper then it will be much more difficult to carry the plan out in actuality.

Once you have committed your concept to paper and before you begin, your Business Plan in earnest now may be the right time to form a Company

The next phase may be product development or preparing a business plan, to be successful you would normally need someone with experience to help you.