Having that desire to go out and make your idea succeed is great. However, you should slow down just a bit first. You have to test your online business idea before you throw all of your money and effort behind it.
Not to scare you too much but succeeding as a new business is hard. Only 2 out of 3 small businesses survive for two years, 1 of 2 will survive for five years, and only 1 of 3 will survive for 10 years. If you want your online business to last, then you need to be as prepared as you can be before you start. Testing your online business idea is one of those ways that you can be prepared.
How exactly should you test your online business idea? Because you want to make sure that people will actually purchase your product, start testing it by following these simple steps.
Wait A While
One of the best ways to test your online business idea is to wait. When your idea comes to you, you may think it’s the most brilliant idea ever, in the moment. However, if you wait for a few weeks, your opinion of your idea might change. It might not be so great after all or maybe it just needs a few tweaks.
Greg Isenburg said this about coming up with new ideas. “After I’ve gone through the process of writing down a bunch of ideas, I don’t like to rush into building a business plan or recruiting the team. I like to wait a few weeks, [to] see which ideas really stick with me.” If you wait a few weeks and the idea doesn’t seem as brilliant as it did originally, then it probably won’t lead to success.
Build a Prototype and Test It
Whatever your product is, you need to build a prototype and test it. It’s best if you build a MVP (minimal viable product). This means that you build the simplest version of your idea that you could potentially sell. After you’ve built your MVP, it’s time to get some feedback on it.
Get Feedback
Without getting feedback, trying to test your online business idea would be pointless. Feedback is what will help you discover how much your product is likely to succeed. Maybe it’s fine as is or more likely, you will need to tweak some things to make it appeal to more people.
Be very picky about who you ask to test your product. You don’t want to just ask family and friends that will give you nothing but praise. That won’t help you. Instead, choose people that need your product but will also be honest and critical about your idea. This will let you know if your product appeals to only a few members of your target audience or the majority of your audience.
Start Testing
If you want your business to succeed, you have to test your online business idea. Not doing so would put you at an immediate disadvantage in the business world. After you’ve come up with your great idea, make sure to wait, then build a prototype or MVP, and finally, get feedback on it. Doing these three things will put you on a great path to your online business success.