When testing your business idea

Section 2 : Talk to your target customers

It’s said that “talk is cheap”, but really the line should be “talk is inexpensive” because while it doesn’t cost much, it’s extremely valuable. The best way to explore the viability of your business idea is to bounce it off of people that might be interested in it. This works whether you’re selling a product or a service.

A good idea is to find a mix of people — some that are very open to your idea, and others that tend to be skeptical. The latter are important because you need people that are willing to tear your idea apart and look carefully at the details.

You want to get a wide range of feedback from a number of perspectives. Make sure you talk to a lot of people. A sample size that’s too small can distort your data. You may find that this is all the research you need to do. If a scant few people find value in your idea it’s a good indication that you either need to scrap the concept or radically reimagine it.