So you’ve come up with a great business idea – now you just have to convince everyone else. Trying to show others why your idea is one that they should believe in can be difficult, especially if you lack confidence. Follow these top tips to make sure you are taken seriously and that your idea has the greatest possible chance of success.
Do Your Research
To convince people to take your idea seriously, you need to be sure that your idea will actually work. So to determine whether your idea is feasible, you need to conduct some basic market research. Work out if people are going to be interested in it and make sure that no one else is already out there doing the same thing.
By taking this vital first step, you’ll allow your idea to take shape – you can learn more about your competition, and work out exactly what gap is that you’re trying to fill in the relevant market.
Know Your Industry
It’s not enough to know your competitors – you need to know how your chosen industry works as a whole. What resources are available to you? Do you have contacts in the industry? Are there industry publications you should read? What are the biggest names and the latest developments in the profession?
When pitching your idea, you need to know all of the above and more. Your pitch should always represent a subset of your knowledge, not all of it.
Create A Plan
Outline what your idea is, your aims and financial goals, how you will get financial backing and other important information. Devote as much time as you need to working out these concrete details – put together, they can all go a long way towards assuring potential investors that you know what you’re doing, and therefore form the foundations of your pitch.
Work Out Your Financing Options
Before you even go about securing funding, you need to work out what the most effective financial model is for your business.
There are several methods of funding you can consider – Microloans, friends and family, Peer-to-Peer lending and crowdfunding. This article can tell you how to make sure you get the funding you need. And if you aren’t too sure about the numbers yet, get your figures sorted with this great guide.
Dress The Part
When you get to the stage of meeting prospective investors, a fundamental way to make sure people take you seriously is to look the part. As with all business interactions where professionalism is key, dressing appropriately for the occasion can only increase your chances. Plus, dressing the part is a major confidence boost – and confidence is vital in these situations.
Share Your Excitement
Doing your research, making a plan, and ensuring that you’ve thought through and accounted for every aspect of your business proposal all obviously demonstrate your passion for your idea. Enthusiasm for and belief in your pitch can have a marked effect on the people you’re pitching to, so this is not the time to self-deprecate or play down the potential of your plan.
That said, you shouldn’t make false promises or oversell your plan – there’s a fine line, and you need to navigate it properly. Confidence stemming from thorough research is good; arrogance and desperation are not.
These ideas just form the basics of what you need to consider when developing and pitching a business idea, but they’re solid foundations that you definitely need to build upon. If you do, then your great business idea has a great chance of succeeding.
Have you got a great business idea you can’t wait to share? Or do you have any other top tips for becoming successful? Share them in the comments below!
About the Author: Jasmine is a Journalism student who enjoys blogging in her spare time.
Cover photo credit: D. Sharon Pruitt
