Steps to evaluating your Business Idea

Whether you want to start an online or offline business, the first thing you need to do is find out whether your product or service will sell. The first step to finding that out is to research the supply and demand of the market. Ideally you want a product or service with high demand and low competition. There are many resources with which you can accomplish that. But, before we get to that, always remember that a business idea is NOT a business opportunity until you go through the evaluation procedure and judge it to be feasible.

All successful business start-ups begin with the customer and the market in mind. Careful analysis needs to be done to determine the industry issues. What are the structure, size, growth rate and capacity of the market you have targeted? From a financial standpoint you need to look at what market share you need to reach to be profitable. You must develop a pricing strategy. Budget for your opening and operating costs to determine how long it will take to breakeven.

Just as important, analyze any barriers that may hinder your entry into the market.

To help you do the above follow these suggestions:

• Consider the advantages/benefits of your idea. Do they meet a need?
• Will your idea solve a specific problem your proposed customer may have?
• Is your idea original, an improvement on or a new combination of services or products?
• Who and what is your competition? What do they offer? How do you compare?
• Make sure you market test your product or service. Produce samples and ask for feedback. Listen to your customers.
• Project your short, intermediate and long range goals. What will your return-on-investment be?
• I your pricing structure such that customers can afford to buy it? What is the lifecycle of the product or service?
• Have you given any consideration to a customer service policy?

As you can see there are many factors that come into play when you are considering a new business proposal or idea. The bulk of what is covered here would be included in your business plan and accompanying marketing plan. Both of which are crucial to your success.

In summary.

It is not only customers, but competitors as well, that will determine the success or failure of your new business idea.

Securing customers in today’s cluttered marketplace is difficult and requires creativity and plenty of hard work. Identifying your customer base and attracting them to be potential customers is first and foremost. As I mentioned earlier there is a wealth of information available on the Internet, albeit mostly theoretical, but with persistence and common sense you can develop a plan. The mere fact there is competition in your chosen market means there is a market for your product or service.

Keep in mind the old axiom “People don’t plan to fail. They fail to

plan.”

Douglas Mackie

February 25, 2007

http://www.fundamentallybusiness.com

Internet Marketing Resources

Here is a current list of some of the programs I endorse and use that will help you achieve success with your Internet business efforts.

Affiliate Marketing Formula

This program is basically “brand new’. I was impressed with the professional approach and the content which Matthew Glanfield is offering. Go to his site using the link below and judge for yourself.

I immediately signed on for the 27 part free course he is offering, plus he has a number of other services available.

His course is very detailed and gives plenty of solid information to digest. Heck, he even gives you homework to do and planning sheets to fill out.

He states on his sales page, "I Want To Teach You The Same Step-By-Step Plan That I Used To Build My First Affiliate Marketing Business That Made Over $100,000 Within Only 6 Months...".

Here's What You'll Learn in the FREE 27-day Affiliate Marketing Formula course:

* How you can easily get started with my simple step-by-step Affiliate Marketing formula that will help you to build a thriving Affiliate Marketing business in less than two months!

* How you can drive a TON of traffic to your website WITHOUT spending a lot of money on advertising.

* How you can convert more visitors into life-long customers, more customers into affiliates, and more affiliates into life-long partners.

* How you can grow a thriving Internet business that will continue to expand and gain more revenue year after year!

· And much more...I, for one, liked the lesson on “Finding your Niche Market”.

Here’s the link to click:

http://www.affiliatemarketingformula.com/?ref=ideasby

NicheBOT V2

NicheBOT V2 is an online keyword analysis tool that is great for beginners and veterans alike and is one of the best free keyword research tools around.

NicheBOT V2 looks like a search engine with the typical search box centered in the middle of the page. There are six different searches that users can perform.

NicheBOT V2. Fits keyword research like a glove. If you do any keyword research at all, you must at least try this service. Allow yourself at least 30 minutes to get your head around how it all hangs together so you can get the full picture of the power of NicheBOT V2.

A keyword research tool that makes sense as it closely follows how users conduct their research. It has the ability to expand your lists to up to 10,000 words per seed keyword. This tool will suit almost anyone who does any kind of keyword research. This tool is especially useful with the demise of the Overture Keyword Tool.

The uneducated guess, but successful marketers know which are the best keywords to drive more traffic to your sites. NicheBOT V2 will do just that.

To access NicheBOT V2 click this link:

http://www.nichebot.com/members/go.php?r=1494&i=l0

Site Build It!

Site Build It! is an all-in-one, system that leads you step-by-step through the process of researching, designing, building, search engine optimization, and marketing for all kinds of websites.

All the tools are included to build and promote a web site which makes it great for beginners and experienced webmasters alike. Their system makes it possible to gain #1 rankings on Google, Yahoo! and AOL, as some of their published success stories detail.

When you take into consideration that a regular hosting package with far less features will cost you above $200. The Site Build It all-in-one system plus unlimited storage and bandwidth, makes it a great buy at the price of $299.

It really is the most simple information site building and marketing system available.

As a bonus, Site Build It is backed by a 30-day money back guarantee. After the 30-day money back period, they will refund on a pro-rated basis.

I have been an affiliate of this company for a long time and the services keep increasing and getting better. The free ebook downloads are a must, especially the “Affiliate Masters Course”…. click this link for a copy. http://aff-masters.sitesell.com/ideasby.html

"Don’t JUST build a Web site...build a Web BUSINESS?

http://buildit.sitesell.com/ideasby.html

For more quality, fully researched resources please visit my web site:

http://www.fundamentallybusiness.com

Published by Riverbank Traders Inc. 2007