#1: Is your idea right for YOU? – Idea Validation Challenge (Day 1)

Is your idea right for YOU? Welcome to Day 1 of the Idea Validation Challenge! This challenge is for those who have a great business… ( Read More )

Is your idea right for YOU?

Welcome to Day 1 of the Idea Validation Challenge!

This challenge is for those who have a great business idea, and they want to make sure it will WORK before you invest time and money into it!

It is also for people who already started a business, and they want to revisit their target audience to increase their reach.

Join the conversation at our Facebook Group:

IS YOUR IDEA ANY GOOD?

Sounds like the question you should be asking, right?

Here’s the problem with that question: there is a market for EVERYTHING, so the answer to this question will ALWAYS be YES.

I mean, people buy Kitty Cucumbers for crying out loud (if you’ve never heard of kitty cucumbers, Google it; it will reboot your brain).

But this doesn’t help you any. It doesn’t tell you whether you will succeed or not.

So the question is not whether you have a good idea. The question is…

IS YOUR IDEA PERFECT FOR YOU?

Now we’re talking.

The truth of the matter is that there isn’t just one perfect business out there that you should go into.

There are MANY ways to become an entrepreneur, but chances are you will not be successful (in fact, you will fall flat on your face guaranteed) if it is the WRONG business for YOU.

Because…

STARTING A BUSINESS IS HARD.

YOU WILL NOT MAKE MONEY, LET ALONE REPLACE YOUR FORMER SALARY, FOR A WHILE.

YOU WILL HAVE A LOT OF EXPENSES BEFORE YOU START MAKING MONEY.

YOU WILL BE WORKING ALL THE TIME. AROUND THE CLOCK. NO JOKE.

Sorry about the caps, but this is Entrepreneurship 101: The Tough Love Lesson.

So when you think of your idea, you have to be SURE that you are willing (and, in fact, excited) to go through crazy hardship in order to fulfill your dream.

Here are some tests that will help you figure out if your idea is right for you:

THE REGRET TEST:

Picture yourself 3 months from now: you’re about to launch your first product. You’ve been putting in 13 hour days and you are a few hundreds (or thousands?) of dollars in debt and you haven’t even made any money yet. You don’t even know if your launch is going to make you any money at all.

Ask your future self: Are you excited that your idea is finally going to see the light? Or do you have a tickle in your stomach that is making you think you should have picked that OTHER idea? The one that didn’t sound lucrative, but if you knew you had to put in this much work and still not get paid, you would have rather worked on something you loved more?

For example:If you chose to do consulting for your corporate area of expertise, but you have always wondered what it would be like to be a travel blogger, you have to realize as early as possible that this is your opportunity to do something special that will ensure you make money as well as fulfill your lifelong dreams. If you end up consulting for corporate but wishing you had a travel blog instead, what was it all for?

You Pass the Test if: The idea you chose does not give you a sense of regret for not having followed a different path.

THE HOURS TEST:

Once your business is live, what will your hours be? Is this the type of business that will allow you to be with your family every night and weekend? Or the type of business that requires you to work outside the home at odd hours?
For example:If you are a photographer, you could set up your work around your family’s schedule, but there may be some nights and weekend work. If you have a brick-and-mortar business establishment with patrons that is open nights and weekends, count on being there every day and night until you hire proper trustworthy management.

You Pass the Test if: You are aware, willing and able to put in the hours that your new profession requires, and you vow never to make that your reason for quitting down the line.

THE NICHE TEST:

People are looking for specific answers to specific questions. Nobody cares how multi-talented you are, so having “Food lover, Organic Grower, Business Expert, and Equestrian Trainer Extraordinaire” on the front of your website does NOT work in your favor.

People want to know that you can help them with THIS problem they have. So all you have to do is make sure you come off as being the ultimate expert on THIS problem.

This may sound intuitive and like a no-brainer, but in reality it’s actually very hard to narrow your focus and especially LET GO of all the other things you are choosing NOT to help people with. #thestruggleisreal

For example: There are a million life coaches out there. Put yourself on the side of the customer: Do you see yourself hiring a life coach right now? Probably not. But what if you saw there was someone who could help you identify all the ways to outsource tasks in your life (business AND personal) to make more time for the things that only you can do? Improve your productivity, eliminate friction in your relationship, and have time to devote to your side hustle. NOW THAT’S a niche people would totally buy into because it solves a problem.

Just remember: Jacks of All Trades Don’t Make Jack.

You Pass the Test if: You can answer this question in a simple sentence: What PROBLEM are you solving?

EVOLUTION IS PART OF THE PROCESS

I want to prep you for something that might happen, or most certainly will happen.

And that is that no matter how much time and research you devote to your idea, you may end up pivoting to something else.

This is OK.

Every step you take to validate your idea will lead you down different branches of the same tree.

This is OK.

What I DON’T want you to do is suffer from analysis paralysis. Pick an idea and produce SOMETHING before you move on to your next one. Learn something in the process.

Pivot like nobody is watching as early as possible, but always keep on moving!

Fail fast. Fail often.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Take the 3 tests.

Then go to the Facebook group and post with hashtag #day1:

Your result to The Regret Test: Were you torn between two ideas? Tell us both, and reveal which is the chosen one and why!
Your result to The Hours Test: Describe your expected work schedule, and affirm you are willing to do it!
Your result to The Niche Test: Describe your niche.