If you are thinking of starting a business or a new service within an existing business, it is extremely easy to get carried away in the moment. Everyone knows that you start with a business plan, but that might just be your first and quite fatal mistake. As you write your plan a strange thing happens; you start to believe your own hype! It is easily done, everything sounds so plausible and the numbers you include in your forecasts and projections seem easily achievable.

Of course we also know that research is a big part of writing a business plan, but few people at this stage truly ”listen” to what the research tells them. They want the answers to be what they want to hear and that’s a very dangerous thing. Before they know it they have spent tens of thousands on a business that never had a chance!

The answer to this dilemma is four-fold:

1) You need to gather as much information as possible. Look at every possible angle, from target market to price points, competition and need.

2) Don’t dismiss any data that contradicts your belief in this new venture. 

3) Take all positive data with a pinch of salt. Be your own hardest critic and don’t accept data at face value. 

4) TAKE YOUR TIME! Don’t rush this process, it takes time to cover your bases, but you will literally pay the price if you rush ahead.

In summary, you may find that the data dissuades you from going beyond business plan stage, but don’t see that as a failure - you just saved yourself a ton of money and heartache!

This is just a short summary of the main New Business Research article on our main website.