- On average people making money from their 'creativity' only make £5000 a year
The following formula/questions will help me identify whether a business idea is viable and point out anything I haven't considered so far.
Who is the customer?
- What are their relevant interests?
- What are their relevant motivations?
- What are their relevant needs?
Which of your ideas are interesting and which have value?
Opportunity:
- Have you identified a market opportunity?
- Are you creating an opportunity for a market?
Solution:
- What is your proposed solution?
- What is the specific idea you have for satisfying the identified need/opportunity?
- Is it a service, product, improved process, business model or a combination of these?
Think about the user experience!
Team/Skills
- What skills will you need? Do you have them or do you need to bring someone else in?
- Partners, suppliers, influences, customers..
- 6 degrees of separation - the thing or person you want is most likely no more than 6 steps/people away from you. Network!!
Advantage
- What is your competitive advantage?
- Why would people choose you over your competition?
- You need an advantage that people can't copy!
The average global investment return is only 4%. In a 'cluster' such as Silicone Valley, it might be 31%.
This is because clusters offer more like-minded people with skills & ideas that might help.
Results
- What results will be achieved from your solution?
- Specifically, what are the quantifiable benefits to your customer and your organisation?
- How do all the key stakeholders benefit in tangible or intangible ways?
Business idea exercise
Customer:
- 21+ years old
- Recent graduates
- Creatives
- Need somewhere to freelance from
- Inbetween jobs
- People who know that they might need help/other skill sets
- In need of resources such as printers/studio space etc
Opportunity:
- When people graduate, suddenly they don't have access to the same kind of resources or community they had in university
- Similar to Duke Studios - lots of independent businesses thriving from one place - creates a bigger network
Solution:
- Studio space/collective for recent graduates to come and work (for a monthly fee) that would offer various print resources/space etc
- Monthly membership fee to pay for location, materials, upkeep etc.
- There would be an application process to make sure they were going to use resources effectively and see what they would be bringing to the collective.
- Similar to Duke Studios but more of an open, free space to work rather than office areas.
Team:
- Marketing
- Practitioners from varying disciplines
- Accountant or someone to manage budgeting/finances
- Some sort of project manager to organise space and resources
Advantage:
- We know exactly what we need after uni
- Creates a sense of community where collaboration is encouraged
- More than just a single office space
- As individuals we have our own contacts so great opportunities for networking
Results
- Potentially some really great collaborations
- New contacts
- Shared studio space - cheaper than getting somewhere on your own
- Motivation to network & get more work
Feedback
- Similar to E-street art in Leeds!
- Good focus on community & customer being graduates - when will people stop being considered graduates though? and will this mean that they'll be kicked out after a certain amount of time?
- Other than membership fees, how will it make money? Commission from live briefs?
Although this wasn't my business plan, it was very similar to an idea I've been thinking about and it was really useful to consider the kind of skillsets and resources that would be needed to make it happen. I'm sure after uni I'll want to start some sort of business so I'll hold onto this process to check whether what I want to do is viable!
No comments:
Post a Comment