Matt Bacak: The Small-Scale Approach To Starting A Business Venture

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Starting out as an internet marketing entrepreneur, you may easily become overwhelmed with a variety of business opportunities and ideas for making money. I know firsthand that it’s not getting an idea that’s the problem. It’s what to do with all the ideas you come up with and all the business propositions available to you. Before I make a decision about a business venture, I look at five things:

1. Demand
2. Profitability or ROI
3. Unique
4. Automation
5. Longevity

Demand. Does the product, service or business venture have a clear market? Do people want this item or service? It’s a lot easier to capture existing demand than it is to create it. If I’m unsure whether or not there is a demand for something I want to provide, that’s usually a pretty good clue that it’s probably not going to work out. But if I really feel like it could be something my consumers want, I might just ask them. Better to find out now that my list isn’t interested in a potential product than spend a whole lot of time, energy and money creating something that isn’t going to sell because it isn’t wanted.

Profitability or ROI. Will this product, service or business venture make me money? What will my return on investment be? Sometimes, I can have a really great idea but once I look at the numbers, I’ll realize monetarily, it’s not worth it. There are times you have to scrap a project just because it’s not going to work financially. Always figure out what your profit margins will realistically be or even what the lowest estimate of profit will be before you start out with an idea.

Unique. Is the product, service or business venture unique enough to warrant me personally investing my time, energy and money into it? If it’s not unique enough, I could be wasting my time creating it when there is already several versions of it available to the public.

Automation. Can I create this product, service or business venture to run automatically? Now, I may not always want to do this but more than likely, I want to have something I don’t have to mess around with too much after it’s done. I only have so much time to invest in a project and that’s something to consider when deciding whether or not to go forward. However, if something can be automated or outsourced, that’s great. I can spend time creating other projects and pursuing other ideas for my business.

Longevity. How long can I sustain this product, service or business venture? How long will it remain profitable for me to do so? Can I see this withstanding the test of time or how long exactly can I maintain its profitability? This often gets overlooked by entrepreneurs because we are so excited about our new idea that we don’t focus on what’s going to happen long-term. But these are things we should know before we start out.

Once you’ve answered all these questions, then you can make your final decision about whether or not you should continue with your idea, your partnership, or your product. These five things can help you quickly and effectively determine what’s best for you and your business without the hassle of agonizing over every little detail before making a decision.