Читать книгу Six-Week Start-Up - Rhonda Abrams - Страница 70

Once you start looking for information, you’re likely going to find more information than you need—or not find the right information at all. A good way to speed up the process of finding information is to start by making a general statement that defines the basis of your business.

For example, if you are planning to start a company that provides online psychological therapy, your general statement might be: “There is a profitable way to provide psychological counseling via the Internet.” Next, make a list of questions that logically follow from and challenge that statement. Here are some questions you might ask about the online therapy business:

What companies are already providing such a service?

What is the market size for all kinds of psychological counseling?

What indications are there that consumers would be willing to get counseling online?

What portion of the existing psychological counseling market can you reasonably expect to transfer to online counseling?

How many consumers who do not currently get counseling could you reasonably expect to be attracted to online counseling?

What other companies are currently providing such online counseling services? How many are there? How many clients do they have? What is their ability to keep out new competitors? What do they charge?

What are the costs involved in conducting an online therapy business?

What are the key technology issues necessary to conduct such counseling, securely, online?

What laws or regulations would affect the offering of such services?

Begin your list with the “My Research Questions” worksheet on pages 50–51. Ask yourself tough questions—it’s much better to uncover unpleasant truths now rather than after you’ve invested your time and money.

After drawing up your list of questions, start looking for answers. Organize your market research data in the files you set up last week. Refer to it frequently as you design your marketing plan, look for funding, and launch your operation.

As you prepare your questions, jot down any ideas about where you might find answers. See “Research Sources” on page 53 for ideas.