Martin Feury, enterprise executive with the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) in Co Offaly, emphasises the importance of the first and most foundational step to starting your own business: testing your idea.

“You need to figure out if there is a customer base and if people would be willing to pay for your product or service,” he says.

“The best way to get that information is by testing your business idea.”

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Entrepreneurs often skip this step because they are in a rush to launch, but not testing your product or service before launching is like pursuing an unfamiliar road without a road map – you will get lost a number of times. And while that may be fun for a weekend away, it is not how to run a business.

Simple steps to take in testing your new product or service idea include:

  • Running it by a group of critics: Speak to a limited number of well- intended friends and colleagues to get real feedback on your initial idea. Ask them for their honest opinion and look for constructive criticism; specific elements that you could improve on.
  • Tweaking it: Sure, your first prototype was great, but you can’t be afraid to change certain elements of your business if it has been mentioned by the majority of your critics.
  • Adopting a new mind set: Chances are that you already have an experimental mind - now you need to implement design thinking. That is, pulling together what’s desirable from a human point of view with what is technologically feasible and economically viable.
  • Building a prototype: Build a minimal viable product that you can use in your next step, which is market research. Don’t invest too much on putting together this model product or service.

    • Martin says: “In testing your idea out, you also need to look at whether you need a large number of products, or a small number of really high-quality offerings.” CL

    The LEO Start Your Own Business course is a free and excellent resource, with one-to-one mentoring included. The programme is currently run online and give participants a solid understanding of what they need to do, before to do before financial investment in a business launch. Register for the LEO Start Your Own Business Programme on www.localenterprise.ie

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