EPISODE 038 | APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY

I was recently asked a brilliant question, how do you know if your idea for a business will thrive in reality? So, in this episode, we’re exploring exactly that. What makes an idea viable and how you can assess its potential to become a successful enterprise. I’ll discuss the importance of market demand, the cost of bringing your idea to life, and the simplicity of the business model—essential elements that can make or break your entrepreneurial plans.

So, whether you’re sketching ideas on a napkin, you've been nurturing a passion project on the side or you are looking to find ways to evolve your business, this episode is designed to give you insights and tools to evaluate and refine your concepts into business plans that succeed.

The Essence of a Good Business Idea

What exactly makes a business idea viable? This is such an important question and one that’s definitely worth exploring before you begin the complexities of business planning and execution. I’m going to discuss the core aspects that contribute to the viability of a business idea.

Firstly, let’s address a fundamental belief: there are no inherently bad ideas. Every concept, no matter how simple or wild it may seem, holds the potential for success. However, the key to transforming any idea into a profitable business lies in its refinement and adaptation. An idea that initially seems unfeasible can often evolve into something market-ready through careful analysis and strategic adjustments.

I firmly believe that almost any idea, with the right amount of passion, perseverance and willingness to evolve, can be turned into a successful business. It’s not about having a groundbreaking invention or a completely new concept; it's about identifying a genuine need in the market and creatively meeting that need. This approach requires a deep understanding of your potential customers, a clear vision of what you want to achieve, the flexibility to adapt as you receive feedback and learn more about your market, and the willingness to work hard and find solutions when you come up against all the inevitable obstacles.

I’ll share insights on how to recognise the potential in your ideas and the mindset needed to foster them from thoughts into a thriving business. I feel it’s so important to believe in your idea’s potential and your ability to bring it to life, but at the same time, not to be naive and unwilling to proactively seek constructive feedback. It’s about balancing optimism with a healthy dose of realism, and the willingness to test and trial, and pivot when needed.

My very first business was a collection of beautifully presented potted plants. I was excited enough to start the business, to give it a try and I was very open to feedback. It was a unique gift idea at the time and I received quite a lot of editorial coverage, the potted plants even made their way onto a TV programme, but despite the editorial and TV coverage, I found that people didn’t want to buy them as gifts for other people, instead, they wanted the potted plants as table centres for weddings and events, and this formed the basis for my floristry business. The story is a little more detailed than that, but what it does show is that if I wasn’t willing to simply start and then be absolutely open to feedback and willing to adapt and evolve, there is no way I would have built my kitchen table business to a seven-figure global brand. It would simply have remained a dream, and I would be back in my corporate role, which I was desperate to leave.

Validating Your Idea

Having said that, it took me a little while to evolve and adapt, and you can definitely get there quicker than I did and bypass some of the unnecessary longer and larger steps that I took.

If I was starting again, I would put a few additional considerations in place. But, I was naive, and I didn’t have access to guidance or a mentor. I’d like to make sure you have both.

So, once you've conceptualised a business idea, the next step is validation.

The first and perhaps most important aspect of validating your business idea is determining whether it solves a real problem or significantly enhances an existing solution. Ask yourself: What specific need does my idea address? Who experiences this problem? How severe is it? An idea that taps into a pressing need is more likely to gain traction and attract customers who are actively seeking solutions.

As serious as this sounds, it doesn’t need to be a life changing solution. If your offering is around luxury or entertainment or simply something that makes someone’s day more enjoyable or easier, that’s great and hugely valid, as long as there is a need and your idea is meeting that need, that’s perfect.

Next, you'll want to conduct some market research to gauge the level of demand for your idea. This involves more than just confirming that there are potential customers. You need to understand who these people are, what drives them, their buying behaviours, and how they currently address the issue your business would solve. Techniques can include surveys, focus groups, interviews, and analysis of industry reports. This research will help you tailor your product or service more closely to the expectations and preferences of your target market.

Another idea is creating a simple landing page, with a clear description, guiding people to the page and asking if they are interested to sign up to a waiting list. By doing this you are testing to see the initial interest, and depending on whether you generate a list, you have a potential initial group of people you can ask further questions, and potentially bring them into a focus group. It is far better spending your time doing this, ahead of pouring your time, effort and potential investment into an idea that falls flat.

And then the next step, assess the financial viability of your idea. This means analysing the costs involved in producing and delivering your product or service and ensuring these costs are sustainable against what customers would be willing to pay. Consider all expenses—from production and operation to marketing and distribution. It sounds obvious but I see this being missed again and again. It's crucial to ensure that the price customers pay exceeds the cost of delivering the solution, allowing your business to thrive.

Case Studies

I’ve shared my own story of how my initial idea evolved and adapted in the first few years, and let's look at a couple of other examples that illustrate how simple or unconventional ideas have been transformed into successful businesses. These stories highlight the importance of scalability and simplicity in your business model.

The Minimalist Baker is a fantastic example of how a simple concept can become a massive success. Founded by Dana Shultz, this website started with one clear, simple premise: recipes that require 10 ingredients or less, one bowl, or take 30 minutes or less to prepare.

This simplicity and clarity appealed to a vast audience looking for quick, uncomplicated meals. The idea's scalability was inherent in its digital nature, allowing it to reach a global audience.

Today, Minimalist Baker has grown into a go-to resource for millions of people, demonstrating how sticking to a simple, clear concept can lead to widespread success.

And Sara Blakely’s journey with Spanx began with a simple need—to look smoother and slimmer under her white trousers. The idea was straightforward, yet no existing product met her needs. Starting with just $5,000, Sara transformed her idea into a product that reshaped the undergarment industry.

The key was her ability to scale the concept without losing the simplicity of the solution it offered. Spanx now dominates its market segment, proving that a simple idea, when properly executed and scalable, can compete with giant corporations.

And as a third example, a system so many of us use and rely on in our businesses, Dropbox. Its concept was born out of frustration by its founder, Drew Houston. He was tired of emailing files to himself to work, from more than one computer. This led to the creation of a simple yet highly effective cloud storage service that allowed users to easily access and share files from anywhere. The simplicity of Dropbox’s user interface and its scalability—aided by a freemium business model—helped it grow from a simple idea into a service used by millions around the globe.

These examples show the potential of simple concepts - just think back to these initial ideas, they seem so obvious now that the companies exist and are hugely successful, but imagine if you heard the initial idea right from its concept, you may well question its viability.

These businesses started as simple ideas, they offered a new or different solution, and in the early days, they were most likely met with some level of external scepticism. Yet, they all effectively address specific needs and are designed with scalability in mind. Whether it’s creating recipes with fewer ingredients, developing a new type of clothing, or solving a common tech frustration, the key to success often lies in how well you understand and execute on the basic principles of simplicity and then scalability.

Practical Tools and Resources

Tools like SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, or Typeform allow you to create detailed surveys that can help you understand customer preferences, pain points, and potential demand. For more in-depth insights, consider organising focus groups, either face to face or online, where you can interact with participants and delve deeper into their feedback.

To understand the broader market trends and your industry's competitive landscape, tools like Google Trends offer comprehensive data and analysis. These types of platforms provide reports and statistics that can help you gauge industry health, consumer behaviour, and potential market size. And you can also discover what people are searching for. And also look for online forums within your industry to see what people are discussing, where their biggest frustrations lie and what problems they can't find solutions for. It’s incredible the information and details you can find in online forums. And with all this information, it can really help you to understand the needs of your target audience and make changes and evolve your idea further.

And don't overlook your existing networks. When we recently launched a new online masterclass, I shared the lessons with friends and those in my network, to gain their feedback and understand what might be missing and if my frameworks were straightforward to understand and implement. We also sent out a survey to our newsletter subscribers and received such incredibly valuable findings that really shaped how I continued to evolve the course. Both of these methods helped to ensure the masterclass was as helpful as I had hoped it would be, and as a direct result of taking the feedback on board and implementing the elements that were most important, for all our participants on the course, these teachings have proved to change so many businesses and in turn lives for the better.

I shared an entire episode on the exact method we used for the survey, and as dry as the subject might sound, it was fascinating and incredibly powerful, and I would love you to benefit from the exact same steps that we took. I’ll be using the findings from that survey for years to come, in a whole number of different ways. At the end of this episode head to episode number 032.

Strategies for Adaptation and Evolution

So, you’ve done your market research and the feedback to either your idea or the way you are looking to evolve your business is really promising. Let’s now look at how you can refine your idea and the importance of being persistent and flexible.

Feedback, whether positive or constructive, as long as it is given in a meaningful way, is invaluable, and how you use it can significantly influence the success of your business. It’s so important to have mechanisms in place to gather continuous feedback once your product or service is introduced to the market.

In all our masterclasses, we continuously ask for feedback, even if it is something we have been running for several years. With different people, you can get different takes and experiences, and therefore ways you can evolve and/or improve your existing offering. The very worst plan is to feel that you have nailed something and leave it as it is. Everything has to evolve and continually improve, and this is such a crucial focus for the ongoing success of your business.

You can gather feedback through follow-up surveys, customer reviews, or direct outreach for comments. Take time to analyse this feedback to identify patterns and insights that could inform refinements and enhancements to your offering. In the episode I previously mentioned, I also shared an accompanying free guide, which  is still available to access, that will help you use AI to quickly and importantly interpret the feedback without bias.

Alternatively, positive feedback can guide you to focus and expand on aspects that are well-received.

Before fully launching a new product or service, consider conducting a pilot or a limited release to test the market's reaction. This is exactly what we did as I mentioned earlier. This approach allows you to gather in-depth data about how your offering performs in a real-world environment and make necessary adjustments before a full-scale launch. Iteration is key here; use the data gathered during the pilot phase to tweak and improve your offering continuously.

The steps from idea to successful business is rarely a straight path. In fact, I can’t believe it ever follows a straight path. It will absolutely require persistence to overcome all the inevitable challenges and the flexibility to pivot when necessary.

Being flexible enough to pivot your business model based on customer feedback, market trends, or changes in the economic landscape is so important. This adaptability will absolutely be the difference between a failing business and a thriving one. In one of the first episodes I shared, I looked at the essential foundational skills for every successful entrepreneur, which are equally as important as testing and researching your idea. These included a strong desire and willingness to learn, optimism, a can-do attitude, and resilience.

It’s episode 007 and works as a great accompaniment to this one.

Conclusion

We've covered a lot of ground today, from what makes a business idea viable to practical steps to help you validate and refine your ideas. We discussed the importance of understanding your market's needs, conducting thorough research, and critically analysing the cost and feasibility of bringing your idea to life. No idea is inherently bad; they simply require the right approach, refinement, and commitment to evolve into something great.

I hope this episode inspires you to take a fresh look at your idea or potentially a new direction for your business. Whether you're refining an existing concept or starting from scratch, I hope the tools and strategies we discussed today are your guideposts. Use them to critically assess your ideas, understand your market, and build a business model that not only meets a need but does so in a financially sustainable way.

And if you have any questions about this episode, head over to Substack where I share a summary of the key points and I’ll happily answer - click HERE to ask your questions.

I would love you to not just think about these strategies but to apply them. Get out there and conduct your surveys, engage in focus groups, and analyse the results. The more informed you are, the better positioned you'll be to make your business idea a huge success.

Thank you for joining me today. Remember, every big business started as an idea—a spark of inspiration. With the right approach and a bit of persistence, your idea could be the next big thing. Here’s to your success and the exciting journey of transforming your creative ideas into successful businesses!

Philippa x