A business idea can be an exciting first step on the path towards creating a business.

However, an idea is not the same as a business opportunity. Most ideas, no matter how brilliant they seem, don’t result in the creation of a business.

This Unlocking Business Opportunities Tool was created to help you decide if your business idea has enough potential to go beyond the first steps.

The tool encourages deeper thinking that can help you to re-evaluate an idea, improve its commercial potential or to explain it to people who can help you to move through your business journey.

All information entered in this tool is confidential and your personal information is protected.

The tool consists of 40 questions separated into three main quizzes that cover the following focus areas:

To help you decide if there is a market for your idea, this section addresses the following aspects:

Expected demand is one of the most important elements in evaluating an idea, and also one of the hardest to assess because you’ll need some understanding of customer behaviour. This section will help you to consider the demand for your product from potential customers.

• What do you know about the size of the target market for your idea?
• Is the market increasing or decreasing?
• Will customer demand be stable or unstable?
• How long will demand for this idea last?
• Can this idea be expanded into other products or services?

Market acceptance looks at how the anticipated demand for your idea may be converted into sales and if customers may accept or reject your idea.

• Does your idea fulfil a genuine need?
• Can potential customers understand the benefits?
• Is it compatible with existing customer attitudes or patterns of use?
• Is it complicated to consume or use?
• Will it be difficult or costly to distribute to customers?

Market strength looks at how well an idea will perform in the marketplace alongside competitors.

• How is the idea different from similar products or services?
• How will customers value it compared with similar products or services?
• Is it vulnerable to the negotiating leverage of customers?
• Is it vulnerable to the negotiating leverage of suppliers?
• Is it susceptible to existing, potential, direct or indirect competitors?

Risk looks at the things that may affect the success of your idea, these can be internal or external to your business or idea. Planning how you will manage risks before you start can reduce the impact that risk may have on your idea if they do occur.

External risks investigates the potential for outside elements to restrict the opportunities of an idea.

• Does your idea comply with the various legal, safety and other regulatory requirements?
• Is it vulnerable to changes in technology?
• Is it exposed to changes in the economy?
• Will it be affected by government policy?
• To what extent will sales depend on factors that are beyond your control?

Internal risks are risks that would come from within your business and that you have more ability to manage when compared to external risks.

• How will you transform from the initial idea into a business operation?
• Are you sure you thoroughly understand what customers want?
• Can you produce and deliver the product or service in the way it is intended?
• Will there be enough money to make it through the start-up phase?
• Can you withstand the pressure that starting a business may have on your personal finances, your career, your family, and your emotions?

The business model section encourages you to think about how you will commercialise, or make a profit, from an idea. It considers the expertise and resources that your idea will need to achieve the intended results, and then asks you to forecast the financial outcomes of the idea to see if it will make more money than it costs to run.

Expertise looks at the specialised knowledge that will be required to get the most out of an idea. This includes marketing, technical, financial, operational and managerial expertise. How important each of these types of depends upon the sophistication of the idea and the nature of the market it faces.

Resources are the elements that can be used to generate value, or profit for your idea. Resources include financial resources, physical resources, human resources, information, and access to help and assistance.

Financial performance analyses if an idea is likely to be able to make a profit and be financially sustainable. This starts with a realistic forecast of the sales revenue that can be generated from your idea and looks at the money that needs to be invested, how much profit can be generated and when the money generated from sales will cover the business costs.

Each question in the quizzes has an explanation to support your thinking and helping you to select the response that best describes your idea.

When you are satisfied with your responses under the Market Viability, Risk and the Business Model sections, the petal graphs will display the strengths and weaknesses for these aspects of your idea. The petal graphs provide a visual display for each of your responses, with stronger results indicated by larger petals and weaker responses indicated by smaller petals.

As you progress through the questions, the results of each quiz will contribute to an overall commercial feasibility rating for your idea. Once you have completed all 40 questions, the tool will generate a Commercial Feasibility Rating score out of 100, which provides an overall indication of the commercial potential of your idea based on your responses.

These ratings are a guide only and should not be taken as a guarantee your business idea will succeed or fail.

If your idea receives a high commercial feasibility rating, then you may wish to consider taking the next steps in your business journey. If your idea receives a low rating, you can work to improve the weaker areas of your idea or move onto another idea.