Right then ....if you have a business idea ...how do you do anything about it?

[mosschops30]

Me and a friend have an idea. Weve only laughed about it over drinks but it seems to be becoming more and more talked about between us and our dh's.

So, I want to know:

How do you know if its a good idea
How can you talk to anyone about it without them stealing it
How do you find out if someones done it before
How do you find out if it would work

TIA

bump anyone got a business head??

if its a product then chk to see if its been patetented. if its a service - try googling things you would search under to find you - if you were in business IYSWIM. and go for it if it looks at all viable - you will only kick yourselves if you dont try.

cx

no its not a product its a service. dh is wondering why if we all think its so lucrative then why is no-one else doing it.

I would like to try it on the mumsnetters but you might all steal my idea

is it a service or a product

if you are young enough you can get advice from livewire or the princes trust any age from business link

there is also a business marketing unit at warwick university business park

test the market on a small scale local level

write a business plan

search and search for simlar ideas or related ones

how are people goiung to access your business?

how much investment does it require and how much will you need to borrow

will it make money

have you got the time skills and energy to push it through

will you be able to work with this friend or will you clash sooner or later

ok if it's a service is it delivered locally or nationally/internationally

are you going to employ people or is it possible to go ahead as just the two of you

relaisitically how much time have you both got to put in

i'm not sure the princes trust would be interested, its erm a rather delicate subject

zippi, we would need to employ staff. We would like to start off with one, then move around the country adding others iykwim

possible franchise?

is it an adult service

yes it is an adult service

an adult service that no one else has thought of..lol

well it depends that may make things more dificult re advertising depending exactly what it is..

best suggestion is to make a business plan and see if you are both really committed and it works out on paper

then test it out locally

if it seems a goer then take a risk with it

is it legal?

of course its legal heifer what do you take me for

just had a search on google and there are a few around but not many, and certainly not a chain of them or anything.

Deffo needs more thinking about though, thanks zippi

if there are a few around then can you try out their service yourself..to give you a baseline for where they are doing it well/badly

If you can't find anyone else doing the service then it is either a very original and possibly lucrative idea which will make millions or (unfortunately more likely) there is a reason why it hasn't been done - either it isn't needed or it isn't feasible.

I guess you need to do lots of googling as research. Because it isn't a product you won't be able to protect it by patent so although I wouldn't tell the whole world, I don't think it would matter if you told a few people to get some feedback.

great idea zippi, the only ones I can see are Blackpool and London but even these are not a permanent feature.

i never thought about not being able to protect the 'idea' as opposed to being able to protect a 'product'. I guess I could try out the idea?

ooh - I'm in Blackpool, If you need me to look in the yellow pages or gazette give me a shout (I promise not to steal your idea - I have a business already & no time for any more ) lol

maybe you could go there for me and report back

also I wouldn't worry too much about protecting it..if it is a worthwhile project then competition and more players is often good as it generates a market which as a sole player is a lot of work..

much easier to enter an exisiting market unless you have huge resources

think supermarkets..room for more than one package in most industries if not it probably isn't viable anyway

people get too hung up on an exclusive idea

it's the way yoiu deliver it that is important and dictates your success or not

wtf is it

I really wanna know what it is now!

Ok, Mosschops, shall I do a 'mystery shop' ? Christ - I'm wondering what this is now! lol

ooh excellent advice thanks all.

Do you really want to know, I'm scared to say incase you all go 'no thats the worst idea ever' and then I'll cry

do we really want to know

yes

Oh, am all intriqued (sp), please do tell, what is it? After all, we can give you our opinions, look at it as market research!

Look - it would be better to get feedback whether positive or not and then you can either go full steam ahead or put it in the bin and have a new 'making moment' lol