Image: Courtesy of Cayusa
Any entrepreneur will tell you to look before you jump, and what that means is you should always research your competition before launching a new product or site. This is really the first thing you want to do after you’ve come up with a new idea. Unless your idea is something completely new or out of left field, chances are there is someone (probably on the internet) out there doing what you just thought of in some fashion. This is why you need to know your competition in a particular niche ahead of time before you invest your valuable time and resources into it. No one wants to invest in a new idea that isn’t going to go anywhere! In an effort to help you determine what kind of competition your new idea might be facing, I present you with the 6 questions every entrepreneur should ask.
Know Your Competition (6 Questions):
Paul Brown from The New York Times published an article titled “Know Your Market Before You Leap”, which featured a list of 6 questions that can and should be used by any entrepreneur trying to assess if they should pursue a new found idea:
- “Who are your five nearest direct competitors?
- “Who are the indirect competitors?
- “Is their business growing, steady or declining?
- “What are their strengths and weaknesses?
- “How does their product or service differ from yours?
- “What can you learn from their operations or from their advertising?”
These 6 questions can easily be applied to anyone who is looking to smart a new website or blog on a particular topic. Checking what is already out there and how it compares to what you plan to do is vital for anyone who hopes to have long-term success. I can tell you from first has experience that it pays of down the road to know your competition up front. So take a few hours or a weekend to really analyze your next big idea because you’ll only end up helping yourself more in the end.
Thoughts? Please take a moment to leave a comment and let me know what you think!
Source: Know Your Market Before You Leap
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