Business Idea Validation Worksheet Template

This business idea validation worksheet template has 10 pages and is a MS Excel file type listed under our business plan kit documents.

Sample of our business idea validation worksheet template:

STEP 2 BUSINESS IDEA VALIDATION "A pile of rocks ceases to be a rock when somebody contemplates it with the - Antoine de Saint-Exupery GOAL RATE, ANALYSE AND COMPARE ALL THE BUSINESS IDEAS YOU CAME UP WITH IN THE PREVIOUS STEP, TO IDENTIFY THE ONE BUSINESS YOU SHOULD PROBABLY PURSUE RIGHT NOW. In this chapter, we will show you how you can identify ideas that carry true business potential. At the end of this step, you will have identified your #1 business opportunity Here are the steps we will follow to identify your best business opportunity: RATE YOUR BUSINESS IDEAS VALIDATE YOUR BUSINESS IDEAS MAKE A DECISION 2 RATE YOUR BUSINESS IDEA RATE YOUR BUSINESS IDEAS We are going to rate your ideas using a 25 points checklist. You can also add some of your own criteria to the checklist if you wish. The elements on the checklist are basically what angel investors, venture capitalists and business plan competition judges would use in evaluating the potential of a business idea. For each question, simply answer with YES or NO. Ideas with the highest number of YES answers possibly have the best chances of success. Ideas with a lot of NO answers may less attractive opportunities from the information you have at that point. Remember, this is the stage where you are supposed to pick the winning idea. Look at them objectively without getting overly attached to any single idea. Judge each idea on its own merits. How to interpret the results: Look at your completed Business Idea Rating Sheet. Do you have at least one business idea with at a lot more YESs than others? This would be an idea worth investigating further. It's possible that you are not satisfied with any of the ideas you evaluated using the rating sheet. In this case, you will need to start from scratch to generate another list of ideas and then evaluate their potential using the same process. For every idea that you are still considering to start after using this checklist, we suggest that you spend more time investigating to know everything about the business and industry before investing too much of your time and money to find out about critical risks and limitations you never knew about once you are deeply invested latter. Consider this research time investment as risk insurance. VALIDATING YOUR BUSINESS IDEA 2 VALIDATING YOUR BUSINESS IDEA There are many ways to continue to validate a business idea. Here are some of the most common approaches: TALKING TO PEOPLE DOING YOUR OWN RESEARCH DOING YOUR OWN MATH Using all three methods together will likely help you gain a 360 degree view of what it means to start this business idea. TALKING TO PEOPLE In order to validate your business ideas, you need to ask questions and listen to what others have to say. The people you need to talk to include friends and family but most importantly potential customers and people who are experts in the field. Talking to people, asking questions and listening to what they say with an open mind will tell you much about the potential, challenges and pitfalls of a particular idea. In these discussions, leave your ego at the door so that you can listen better, absorb facts and learn. Don't get defensive about the idea. You don't owe it loyalty and should be willing to drop it should it fail to show good prospects. Remember that, remain cool and listen to what they have to say. Friends and family Family and loved ones can tell you whether the idea may be suitable for you, but the danger is that your loved ones may support you even if the idea is terrible, just because you seem to have set your heart on it