7 Key Tips to Get Market Feedback about Your Business Idea

So you’ve got your business idea, now the important thing is to get honest feedback to be sure your assumption is worth following through.

This step is crucial – an assumption about what the market needs or wants is great, but if it isn’t embraced by your target customer you’ll end up spending time, effort, and money unnecessarily.

Here are our 7 effective tips on how to get feedback from your target market.

 

 

1. Define your Target Market

This step almost seems so obvious that it doesn’t need to be stated, but defining your target market is perhaps the single most important step.

If you’re asking the wrong people about your idea, you’re going to get inaccurate feedback. This feedback will incorrectly alter your perception of your idea which may lead you down the wrong path. It’s just as bad not following a great idea through as it is following a bad idea through which won’t sell.

Objectively define your target market. Who will benefit most from your product? Do they have a likely age range? A particular area they live or work in?

Honestly answering these questions will allow you to tailor your approach, maximizing your chances of reaching the right people and getting the right feedback. Plus, you’ll save a ton of time by not getting having conversations with the wrong set of people.

 

2. Get Over The Idea That You Shouldn’t Tell People Your Idea for Fear of Them ‘Stealing it’

 Working with entrepreneurs (and being one myself), this is a phrase I have heard more times than I can count.

‘My idea is amazing, but I don’t want to tell other people because they might steal it.’

The only time anyone would actually put the effort into copying your idea is only if you make a huge success out of it, at which point it wouldn’t matter anyway because you would already be successful. And from the looks of it, the copycat never really wins.

The simple fact is, if you have a great idea, the best thing you can do is share your idea with everyone you can.

Now don’t get me wrong, in the last tip we’ve said that you should strictly define your target market, but there’s no harm in telling people who are not part of your target market because they may know other people who’d benefit from what you have to offer.

The trick is not to put nearly as much emphasis on opinions from people who are not from your target market; they won’t directly know the benefits/drawbacks of your idea because they won’t be thinking as potential customers.

3. Ask Your Potential Customers Face-to-Face

Physically asking your potential customers for feedback is hugely valuable. Asking specific questions and having conversations face-to-face can bring you highly valuable information that no other form of feedback can.

Face to face we’re much better able to read facial expressions and body language, getting a feel for what someone really thinks. Maybe they’ll be animated and enthusiastic, maybe they’ll be a bit more held-back, or maybe they’ll want more information and turn into one of your first customers.

The drawback of this method is something called ‘demand characteristics’ – that people may tell you what you want to hear. By and large though, these people are few and far-between. To alleviate thiss, remember to ask open-ended questions as much as possible.

4. Ask People Already in the Industry

If you can find anyone already in the industry your idea is based in, you can gain massively valuable feedback because it comes from a place of knowledge and practical experience. Imagine talking to Tiger about golf club comfortability. Imagine the value of the feedback you’d get from him.

This type of feedback is unique, the type your potential customers won’t be able to directly give you. One of the dangers, though, is in making sure not to ask someone who is a potential competitor. If they are, then of course their advice will be biased to their own interests.

If you manage to find someone objective however, their feedback will be as honest as it comes, because they’ll have nothing to lose in offering their advice.

 

5. Survey Your Target Market Online

Creating your own online survey is hugelyeasy these days. Using google surveys or the plethora of survey websites makes it so simple to get feedback on anything at all.

Online surveying can bring you huge feedback. If you go out for a day and speak to people face-to-face, you may be able to speak to 40-50 max. Because people can fill surveys in simultaneously, you have the opportunity to get massive amounts of data/feedback from relatively little effort.

The trick with this method is to ask the right questions and get your survey in front of the right people. Keep your questions short and concise, people don’t want to spend too much time on things they don’t get much out of.

Ask 2/3 questions at the beginning to define whether the person is a potential customer, then ask the most important questions to whether your idea will be well received. Keep it short, sweet and to the point.

 

 

6. Use Social Media Channels

Everyone is on social media these days. Putting surveys or questions on blast using multiple social media channels has the potential to bring you all the honest feedback you could ever need.

Facebook, LinkedIn and others offer specific targeting to get content in front of exactly who you want. Facebook charges relatively little to allow you to choose the age-range, location, gender plus other factors of who you’d like to target.

In this way you could share a survey or create content (like an article, blog post, video etc) with valuable content which then asks for feedback.

The great thing about online feedback is that people are more honest than in real life. Because it’s online, there isn’t much consequence on comments so generally people are far more willing to say what they really think.

This type of feedback can be invaluable and will help you make an informed decision on your idea.

7. Offer Something in Return for Feedback

 

Okay, maybe not that much…but we’re all busy these days and as a general rule people won’t be inclined to do something if they won’t get much out of it.

The way to get around this is to offer something small in exchange for someone’s feedback or opinion.

The trick is to give something which would be massively valuable to your target market, and less so to everyone else. Here’s where you’ll have to get creative; what would your target market really benefit from, but which won’t cost you a lot?

The best answer for this is specific information. You have your target market – think about what information they would benefit from and offer that in exchange for their honest feedback. Perhaps an article or a very short free e-book which you would then give them on receiving their feedback.

This will entice your potential customers to communicate and connect with you and because it’s online, they’re more likely to be honest. This also has the added bonus of catching their email addresses so you can stay connected with them for future.

 

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A bunch of super cool tech junkies. Try out our innovative biz dev platform here and let us know what you think.

 

How to Finance Your Startup in 8 Effective Ways

(Here’s the link to the original article)

 

So you have your business idea, your business plan, (or business model canvas if you’re an early-stage startup (check out how to make your business model canvas here), and validated its need in the market, now you need the means to get it off the ground.

Ultimately the question of how to finance your startup depends on your circumstances and what kind of business you’re starting.

There are quite a few different roads available, some can be simultaneously walked down whilst others may give you all the capital you require plus a bit extra. Let’s take a look at some of these avenues.

1. Bootstrapping

 

From the old saying ‘pull up your bootstraps’, bootstrapping means to finance your business yourself, without any outside help.

This options viability depends on your personal finances and the type of venture you’re starting. If you have a substantial amount saved and your business doesn’t call for a huge amount of start-up capital and initial running cost, it’s entirely possible to commence using just your own funds.

Bootstrapping is an effective financing method if you can afford it – you won’t owe anyone anything and you’ll answer only to yourself. It is important, however, to choose wisely and take into account possible worst case scenarios.

What happens if the business fails, can you afford to lose that much capital? How long can you afford to finance the business yourself without any sales coming in?

As the old saying goes, ‘don’t put all of your eggs in one basket’. If you’re going to bootstrap, be sure to use a sensible portion of your finances, not all of them, and always take into account living and personal costs.

2. Friends and Family

Seeking funds from friends and family is probably one of the first ports of call and can be an effective form of financing.

Friends and family know you personally, so they’re more likely to lend to you and far less likely to ask for interest on return, plus they’ll be more flexible on repayment timing. However, this method can be somewhat treacherous.

Often, family relations and good friends don’t make the best business connections. If the business doesn’t go so well, will you be able to pay them back? Are you willing to potentially sour a relationship for funding? If you’re asked for a slice of your business in exchange, are you willing to let that person have a say in your business, or pay out the same percentage in equity?

3. Bank Loans

It’s only logical to seek a bank loan when looking for finance. There are government schemes which help provide bank loans to start-up enterprises, depending on which country you live in – a simple web search will provide the information needed.

Bank loans, of course, come with interest added onto the repayments. It’s worth shopping around for the best rates and perks, as some come with added extra’s like accounting software packages and web building tools.

You’ll need a clear business plan and an idea of where your revenue will come from before a bank will even consider you, and many will require assets to guarantee the loan.

4. Angel Investors

These are private individuals who have often succeeded in business themselves and are now looking to invest their own money.

An angel investor will want a share of equity in return for their investment and will often offer business coaching and mentoring, in part to impart their wisdom, in part to speed up return on investment.

It’s difficult to come up with hard rules on this type of financing – each investor will have their own preference of industry and their own business coaching style.

If you’re able to find one who takes a shine to your idea or you as a person, then not only could you get funding, but you’ll also likely gain a valuable asset to the business.

5. Venture Capitalists

VC’s are in business to make large amounts of money in relatively short time frames, so they go for big projects (we’re talking millions). It’s unlikely they’ll be interested in early-days and pre-revenue start-ups.

If you’ve got big plans and a hugely scalable idea though, it’s worth trying to meet a few VC’s. If you get one, their expertise, market contacts and sheer amount of cash could skyrocket your venture to dizzying heights – just make sure you have a viable exit strategy before you get into bed with a VC.

6. Credit Cards

Perhaps not the best method, but financing on credit cards can work if you’re sure that you’ll be making profit soon enough to cover the monthly repayments.

It’s best to shop around for the lowest rates, but be careful when it comes to spending on plastic, if you don’t strictly keep up with repayments the monthly charges can add up very quickly.

If this method must be used, it’s best in the beginning when you require small amounts of money for short periods, it’s by no means a viable long term option.

7. Grants

Governments provide grants for a whole range of business ventures. Science, the arts and engineering are just some industries where grants are available.

It’s definitely worth searching online for what grants may be available to you. Application processes are usually quite long and you’ll have to jump through a few hoops, but securing a government grant can give your business serious credibility in the market place. A quick web search for ‘business grants’ will give you an idea of what could be available to you.

8. Crowdfunding

Perhaps the newest and most fashionable form of financing. Crowdfunding is where large amounts of people each give you small amounts of money which add up to (hopefully) large amounts of finance. Read our article on effective crowdfunding tips here.

In return you’ll have to give them something, of course, depending on the amount a person gives. Small contributions could get them a mention on your site or your marketing, for larger pledges you could give out freebies, first chances to sample your product, or even shares and equity.

Crowdfunding success lies largely in how well you can connect to the general masses. If your business strikes a chord with people, for example something environmentally friendly or altruistic, or if you’re looking to provide real technological advancement for example, crowdfunding could do quite well for you.

The second important thing about reaching people through this method is delivery. People must be able to very obviously see your unique value proposition or be able to relate to you in some way.

You can start a crowdfunding campaign here or through sites like crowdcube.com and kickstarter.com.

7 Emergency Ideas Startup Entrepreneurs Should Adapt Now

Several startup entrepreneurs have great ideas in mind but fail to turn them into successful businesses because of some common and avoidable mistakes known to the startup world. Were they avoided, these entrepreneurs might have been another set of names among celebrity founders like Mark Zuckerburg and Evan Spiegel. So, what has WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat, Uber and AirBnb (to name a few companies) done that other businesses failed to do? And what are some of the mistakes that most of them avoided to procure success? Let’s take a look below.

1. Conduct Feasibility Studies

Startup businesses usually start with an idea fueled by a deep intrinsic motivation to make it a reality. While that’s great, founders often assume their business ideas will work without adequately researching their respective industry and market. There’s a reason you’ll see this mentioned as a commonly made mistake in several entrepreneurial and startup articles – and thankfully so. Studying the industry and the market you plan to enter will provide invaluable insight and information necessary for success. Questions like “Will my business work for all age groups or will it just work for millennials?” are crucial to consider, research, and answer before doing anything else, even so much as designing a logo (no pun intended). Answering these questions can also help founders assess whether their current savings is enough or whether funding sources like angel investors, venture firms, or crowdfunding services are needed in the short term. Entrepreneurs who know their market and industry and can determine how their business fits in, will be rewarded nicely.

2. Develop a Business Plan 

Since the dawn of time, a promise by word of mouth is less valuable than the tangible. In this case, your business plan is the tangible word and foundation to your idea. An idea remains nothing but an idea until it has been carefully outlined and translated into planned out thoughts and action. Ask Napoleon Hill. There are no countries without borders and there is no business without a business plan. Business plans help in several ways and here are a few things to consider when developing yours:

• It should clearly state what problem your business is addressing.
• It should clearly describe how your business will address the problem.
• It should clearly explain how you plan to create a sustainable (and profitable depending on your business) company.

Successful founders avoid being naive and thinking their idea is quick and easy to execute. Rather, they are diligent and execute a critical thinking process every step of the way. Successful founders write down ideas and organize their thoughts to achieve better results.

3. Create an Online Presence

It’s 2016 in the 21st century. Successful entrepreneurs use the online world to build momentum. A commonly asked question to business owners is, “Do you have a website?” or “Is there an app?” Companies without an online presence risk being seen as unprofessional, strange, and non-friendly to the consumer. Successful startups take advantage of social media platforms to reach their audience, adapt extensive engagement strategies such as email marketing, and attempt to increase organic engagement. These strategies should help produce better results and positive earnings at the end of the fiscal year. Most successful companies have a modern and user-friendly website that’s also mobile friendly. If you can afford to, consider investing in a mobile app for all common devices. Find bloggers in your industry or niche to write about your product, submit press releases, and utilize Google Analytics to monitor various online metrics.

4. Build a Strong Team

Relationships are key to successful startups despite many of the stories we’ve seen where business partners go after each other in court. People tend to ignore the fact that those “fall-outs” usually happened after the company grew. Focus on building a strong team of diverse individuals with different skills and strengths. They’ll have their weaknesses (as much as you do) and might not necessarily be passionate about your business (which is fine). Settle personal differences early on and build a coercive front. As the saying goes, “It’s not personal. It’s business.”

5. Share Equity

There’s always a global economic crisis (check the news) and one thing that individuals wouldn’t mind opting for is ownership, especially in a successful or promising company. Sharing out equity to potential partners has its benefits when relationships and commitments are clearly defined. Owning equity in a company changes one’s relationship from associate/employee to “part owner”, thereby increasing that individual’s stake in the business. There’s now a greater sense of responsibility towards the startup and stronger desire for the company to succeed. Handing out equity is a nice way to keep your startup running, so avoid a take-it-all approach and share some of the pie.

6. Be Smart and Financially Conservative

Fundraising can be a pain but when it goes well, you’ll be able to bring all the prospects of your startup to life; however, be smart and conservative with your finances. Avoid buying expensive services early on. Failing to do so might thwart the progress of your startup and certainly avoidable with the range of online resources available. Always remain keen on your objectives and try to cut costs and save time by outsourcing tasks and connecting with multi-talented individuals who can effectively take on one or two roles. Outsource through platforms like Giggrabbers to save money while bringing your startup to life.

7. Determination

Many well-established companies have been praised and dressed with a number of awards for their innovations and success, but people often ignore the challenges that stood as temporary roadblocks along the way. Startups are made to make or break and it takes extreme determination and discipline to obtain the former. Everyone won’t say yes to you the first time around and all your strategies and plans won’t work out the way you want it; but be determined and resilient. Friends and colleagues might say, “Hey, your product is great!” but never buy it, and your response to that and similar challenges will determine your success. Dr. Charles Stanley once said, “Disappointments are inevitable but discouragement is a choice.” You have the power to stop or be determined enough to startup your company even when the engine fails to start.

Adapt and/or maintain these tips while avoiding the mistakes outlined above and you’ll be well on your way to building a successful startup.

Giggrabbers – The World’s First Combined Crowdfunding and Outsourcing Platform!

Giggrabbers is an online crowdfunding, outsourcing, and project visualization platform that helps individuals and businesses bring their projects and idea to life. It’s the first and only platform of its kind. In fact, crowdfunding has never been combined with online outsourcing as a service. What Giggrabbers provides is novel and very helpful to users looking to start a venture and find funding.

By combining crowdfunding, outsourcing and visual mapping tools into one software, Giggrabbers improves a user’s project management experience. Individuals and businesses can now raise funds for each task of a project through a crowdfunding campaign, outsource those tasks to freelancers, and visually map out the tasks within their project using an interactive circle-spoke wheel diagram. It’s pretty cool actually and here’s how it works:

1. Project Visualization: The project visualization tool can be used to map out simple unrelated tasks (called a simple project) or a group of tasks that relate to one big project (called complex projects). Complex projects require a user to first indicate the type of project being pursued. Based on the project type, the user answers “yes” or “no” to a questionnaire around likely tasks. For example, the questionnaire for a venture/entrepreneurial projects would ask the question: “Do you need a website?” or “Do you need a mobile app developer?” and if the user answers yes, the platform adds the task to the circle spoke wheel diagram and proceeds to the next question. This happens until all questions are viewed or eight tasks are added to the wheel diagram. For each task, the user is then asked to provide a brief description, identify their budget range, and specify a desired date of completion. (This information can be modified later.)

 

Giggrabbers’ Project Visualization

 

2. Online Outsourcing: After all tasks have been described and posted to the jobs page, the user can monitor job proposals from freelancers, namely “giggrabbers” until one is selected for each task. Additionally, a project page is created where users can view and track feedback from supporters and monitor the crowdfunding and overall project progress. The most important features of this service are that users can enjoy enhanced and interactive functionality when working on big projects. By allowing users to visually map out and outsource tasks, Giggrabbers’ circle spoke wheel prompts users to approach outsourcing as a big project kind of thing, unlike any other outsourcing platforms, allowing for a more holistic approach to project management.

Giggrabbers’ Outsourcing Tool

3. Crowdfunding: The most unique feature about the way crowdfunding works on Giggrabbers is are that funds can only be used towards hiring a freelancer to work on a project. In fact, funds can be restricted towards a specific task within the project or budget item within a task. For example, in funding a venture/entrepreneurial project that requires website development, an investor can select the website development task to fund. If the investor wishes to fund something more specific, he or she can fund a budget item within that website development task (e.g. down-payment, 1st milestone, 2nd milestone, etc.) As a result, crowdfunders have more flexibility and transparency when choosing to fund a project. They can be more certain that funds are used in a way that furthers the development of the project.

 

Giggrabbers’ Crowdfunding Tool

Every individual with a viable idea should have a fair shot at bringing it to life. In that regard, Giggrabbers exists to improve the chances of a user’s success when indulging in a project. By making big improvements to the way crowdfunding and outsourcing works, Giggrabbers hopes to bring ideas and projects to life for people around the world.

Try it today: www.giggrabbers.com

Giggrabbers is the world’s only online crowdfunding and outsourcing platform.

 

Giggrabbers – Best Online Outsourcing and Crowdfunding Outlet

Are you a freelancer looking for work? Are you craving for a start-up in a world where global economic crisis has become the keyword in every discussion and debate? Giggrabbers is a platform like no other; it is the only online outsourcing/crowdfunding platform that you can find on the face of the earth.

Believe me; I have been freelancing for over six years. I started writing on Triond, Experts Column, Bubblews and then made the transition to Elance, Guru, Freelancer and Odesk “(before it became Upwork),” Craigslist, People per Hour, Write Jobs amongst other platforms.

 

Giggrabbers – An online crowdfunding, outsourcing, and project visualization platform.

 

 

Giggrabbers is new and different. There are many talents out there in the niches of writing, music, technology, film and in other artistic endeavors but few of them seem to have the capital to propel them to greater heights in life because of high interest rates, leaving consumers with few options like crowdfunding.

There are so many crowdfunding websites available with the popular ones being Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. These platforms have provided invaluable support to numerous talents but Giggrabbers is the only platform with a two-in-one approach.

Giggrabbers Two in One Approach

Flexible Crowdfunding

Like all online outsourcing and freelance websites, there are two options when you want to sign join the website. When you click on WORK then it means that you want to offer your services either through blogging, web design or others to help a client in a project – in other words, “gig-grabbing.”

The other is clicking on HIRE. Clicking on this option means that you want to offer work to freelancers which is done by all the other outlets, but here’s the difference: Giggrabbers provides two options labeled SIMPLE PROJECT and COMPLEX PROJECT. The simple project offers options like other freelance websites but the COMPLEX PROJECT provides options such as Business Development, Event, Property Management and Venture (Entrepreneurship).

With this option chosen, Giggrabbers knows the plight of start-ups as projects typically require a lot of hands, so it utilizes a circle-spoke wheel tool that helps visualize and map out tasks in your projects.

 

Project Visualization

 

As an add-on, a crowdfunding campaign is automatically generated and started so that friends and family would be able to view your project, and as per the budget you provide and how viable your project is, they start to make deposits in order to see you realize your potential as an entrepreneur, a property manager in real estate, an event host or someone whose quest is to help people develop their business.

Crowdfunding comes with a lot of positives and with the development of several platforms “(thanks to the introduction of many online payment systems)” individuals have taken advantage of the technology by sourcing out funds and using the money accumulated to start their respective carriers something that Giggrabbers humbly provides to start-ups and individual entrepreneurs.

Crowdfunding Tracker

Not only that, but many people have a problem with Intellectual Property, and therefore in order to avoid proprietary issues, they often avoid all forms of crowdfunding. Giggrabbers is set in New York and it is regulated under the State of New York Laws so has the authenticity and credibility of both inventors and investors at heart.

Aside that, funds are sourced through the number one and the most used online payment system, Braintree Payments, a PayPal subsidiary, so payments are secure and can be refunded.

There are countless online outsourcing and crowdfunding platforms now thanks to the easy creation of websites through CSS, HTML and PHP documents; however, none of them provide two services as a combined product, something that is only available by Giggrabbers.

Are you looking for work? Are you looking to grab an opportunity? Do you have a project that requires a mastermind but do not where to turn to because you lack the funds as well as the human resource.

What are you waiting for? Sign up to Giggrabbers now and change your freelancing and crowdfunding life for the better.

https://www.giggrabbers.com/