Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello guys, I have had a few a business ideas which i think are productive. But i need your expert advice and feedback on it to learn and improvise on it... 1> Custom T-shirt designing - I know there are lots of it.. but its still a hot cake... Also i have plans to make it more lucrative... 2> Gaming website - Again many exists.. but in this I plan to distribute via online free demos of hot games like nfs, counterstrike, etc so that people can have an idea of the game. I would like to know the pros and cons of above ideas... I appreciate your help in advance and look forward to an open conversation... Thanx and happy new year...

There are very few bad ideas and yours are both good - but, success/failure comes in the details.  How do you implement it so it makes a profit is the question.  A plan that entails how many you have to attract at what price and the method by which you can accomplish that.   When you work through your plan, you'll see what works and what doesn't.

In the old days you could guess and try things, but business has changed and the margins are tighter.  It takes careful and honest plannning - your next step.  Good luck.

Ed

I agree with Ed, you must have a business plan before you proceed with your business venture.

I would also recommend that if you are at a point where you have the ability to start your own business, then make it one of your passion. If you have something that you really enjoy doing, you will be able to put your heart and soul into it without the drawback of getting burned out from it.

Good luck with your endeavor.

When looking at any idea, you need to answer three questions; How does it make money? Who will buy it? How do I make those people aware of the business?

If you can't answer those questions, you don't have a business. An idea is not a business. Don't get so caught up in the planning. At this point you should be able to distill a plan for either of these businesses to no more than one page.

I agree with Gary. The business should be an extention of you. You have to be passionate about the idea or you will never get through the start up phase.

Although, passion is an ingredient of success, sometimes passion is not enough. As mentioned above, you need a good business model. You could be passionate about music, but would opening a music store selling CD’s be a good business in today’s world?

Ed Baloga, CPA / MBA
Principal CFO
Baloga Associates
ebaloga@baloga-associates.com
www.twitter.com/edbaloga

Obviously passion alone without a business plan is not good enough. However if you have a choice between a business that you are passionate about, and one that you aren't, you will be more successful with the one that you are passionate about. It is well known that being passionate and enthusiastic about what you do is the number one contributing factor to the success of a small business.

I agree with Ed. You're ideas are great (I especially love your idea on tshirt design) so now you just have to hammer in the details. I'm sure you'll go far. If you go forward with the tshirt design plan, then you can spread the word through major social media sites, especially on Facebook.