So you ve got it. You can picture it already, the perfect idea for a new business venture. It s all you can think about, and you know all your friends and family will be so impressed by your success.
But, there s a great big but. You ve never taken a new business venture from concept to completion before. Where do you start?
Buy a mirror, says Jerry Bouma, owner of Toma and Bouma Management Consultants in Edmonton. Then take a long, hard, honest look in that mirror and do a frank assessment of your own capabilities.
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When it comes to launching a new business venture, you are likely much more important than your product.
Do you have what it takes? Bouma asks. It s complex& most people don t understand what it takes.
To help farmers assess their strengths and weaknesses, Bouma created an interactive website and a self-assessment questionnaire for farmers. It s part of a tool kit for the Canadian Farm Business Management Council (CFBMC) and it s meant for farmers interested in diversifying (see sidebar for web directions). The website leads farmers through the steps necessary to develop a business plan for their new product or service.
There is no cookie-cutter approach when it comes to starting a new business venture, warns Bouma.
Gary Morton of Morton Horticultural Associates, Coldbrook, N.S., who also consults for CFBMC, recommends farmers also get an early start at assessing the market potential. If there is no market then the idea ends there, Morton says. New products need to be market driven.
You can start with secondary market research if you re really busy, says Michael Berger, a business coach and owner of Plan B Services in Chilliwack, B.C. Secondary research includes reviewing Statistics Canada or provincial government data, reading trade magazines for the new business and talking to people in the same industry.
As the idea percolates and starts becoming more viable, Berger recommends primary market research. This includes identifying your target market, identifying competitive advantages, developing a pricing strategy and researching your competition.
Farmers are often very good at production but not so good at marketing, warns Bouma. They re in love with their own idea and can t put themselves in the mind of the customer. Most people are poorly equipped when it comes to marketing, he says. It s the difference between an amateur and a professional. You can t compare the guy in the track pants and the skates with the NHL hockey player, he explains.
Morton recommends developing a prototype to test and validate the market. Validation involves testing the new product on consumers and showing it to retailers and getting product feedback.
