Business Head - Where are my markets?

Hi,

Well obviously if you're going to start a business, you need to know where you're going to sell whatever you're going to sell.

So, being the brains that you are, how are you going to find that information out? You're hoping that I was going to tell you? Ummmm... Okay, I'll give you a few ideas to start with.

First of all, do you have any competitors? Or if not, are there any companies that do something remotely similar to what you plan to do? I don't mean pick your nose, as I don't think that that would sell well. You could even look for people that have a similar sort of approach to you. So you could look at no frills companies, or companies that offer things at a cut price. Perhaps you could even view companies that often do big sales, it really depends on how you envisage your company working.

Now, you have an idea of competitors either for a product or service, or people who have a similar approach. You're really impressed with yourself aren't you? Chill out! You still have some work to do, although the job you've done so far has been sterling. Okay, so you need to write down what or how you found those competitors, or like companies, what identifies them? How are they different? What do they do well, and what do they do badly? How much money do they earn?

You can also try to look at the competitors in terms of investing, would you invest in them, and if so why? If not why?