Business Ideas/ Opportunities Flashcards
2 Internal Sources of Ideas and explain
- SKILLS AND HOBBIES- an entrepreneur may have a particular interest or talent that would influence them into starting up a business which reflects that passion.
- EXPERIENCES- someone may set up a business based on experience they previously encountered and learned something from.
2 External Sources of Ideas and explain
- FAMILY AND FRIENDS- an entrepreneur may get some ideas from those they are close to. It may come from a family member or a friend who may be complaining about a product they are not able to get or doesn’t work well.
- MEDIA- a person may get an idea from seeing it on TV or reading about it in a newspaper. The media gives an indication of trends.
3 Internal Sources of Ideas from an Existing Business
- REASEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT- an established business will have a R&D department. This may work on discovering new products or improving an existing product to extend its product life cycle.
- EMPLOYEE SUGGESTIONS- a business can benefit from allowing their employees to come up with some new ideas or ways of improving existing products.
- BRAINSTORMING- a technique that brings together a group of creative people to generate business ideas. Hearing one idea can spark others to come up with suggestions. No ideas are dismissed. The group will carry out a SWOT analysis to see if the ideas are worth putting forward.
3 External Sources of Ideas for an Existing Business
- IMPORT SUBSTITUTION- this is when a product that is currently imported is replaced with a product made in Ireland. Irish entrepreneurs might try and come up with bringing an idea into Ireland that already exists abroad.
- COMPETITORS- businesses may try and copy ideas from main competitors to keep on top of them.
- CUSTOMER FEEDBACK
7 Steps in Product Development
idea generation
product/ service screening
concept development
feasibility study
prototype development
test marketing
product launch
Step 1
IDEA GENERATION
involves the search for possible product ideas which the company feels it’ll want. Many ideas must be generated to find a few that will be successful. The sources may be within or outside the business, brainstorming is often used. Ideas can come from internal or external sources
Step 2
PRODUCT/ SERVICE SCREENING
screening involves evaluating each of the ideas generated in step 1 by conducting a SWOT analysis to see if its worth brining the idea to the market. Any ideas with no future will be discarded
Step 3
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
involves turning the initial idea into a real objective. Aims are drawn up and a plan is created for people to follow to develop the product further. A more detailed version of the product idea will be drawn up and will identify things such as the function of the product, what it will look like and does it have an USP’s
Step 4
FEASIBILITY STUDY
seeks to establish 2 things:
(i) is it actually possible to make this product
(ii) is the idea commercially viable i.e. are customers willing to buy it.
Market research needs to be carried out to see if there is a demand for the product.
Step 5
PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT
a prototype is the first working model that the business will make of the new product. It is a sample/mock of what the actual product will be. It is used during the market research process to see if customers like it. The prototype allows the business to see what works well and what further improvements might need to be made.
Step 6
TEST MARKETING
launching the product in a small segment of the market to see of customers like it. This group of customers are surveyed for their opinions. Their reactions are used to refine the product before putting the final product out into the market.
Step 7
PRODUCT LAUNCH
full scale production of the product begins and it is made available to the market. A marketing campaign is made to promote it.
