There’s
a somtam stall that sits on the road outside my apartment here in Bangkok,
Thailand. The stall sells somtam which
is sliced green papaya mixed with chilli, fish sauce, sugar, peanuts and a few
other ingredients (it’s delicious!).
Cost for a serving is 25 Thai Baht (less than US$1.00).
During the first 12 months of running my business here in Thailand, there
were regular occasions when I didn't have enough money to buy somtam. I
don’t tell you this for any other reason except to emphasise the immense challenges
that for those of us experience who make the decision to set up and run our own
businesses.
Running your own business can be cruel and difficult. Difficulty bringing work in, promised sales never eventuating, inconsistent cash-flow, work completed but payment delayed and additional time demands which eat into your social and family life are just some of the issues new business operators deal with on a daily basis. Some times it feels like every step in the process is designed against being successful.
Running your own business can be cruel and difficult. Difficulty bringing work in, promised sales never eventuating, inconsistent cash-flow, work completed but payment delayed and additional time demands which eat into your social and family life are just some of the issues new business operators deal with on a daily basis. Some times it feels like every step in the process is designed against being successful.
Running a business can be tough but starting a business based on poor decisions is often business suicide. The worst thing you can do is waste your time and money on a venture that will not succeed. Most people that I meet who are setting up their business have spent more time planning their end of year-end holiday than on assessing the viability of their new business. Completing proper analysis before you proceed with your business is critical as it greatly increases your odds of success
Opportunity Evaluation is the name for the systematic process to evaluate a business idea to determine if it's actually viable - will the business make you enough money and achieve your goals? The idea of assessing the business before you set it up is not a new idea but few people take the time to do it properly, probably because many believe that the Business Plan is the Opportunity Evaluation. A business plan is a document that assumes the idea is already viable and details how the business will proceed. The fact is, a business plan is not an Opportunity Evaluation.
If we equate the process of buying a house with starting up a business, the Opportunity Evaluation phase would be the time spent looking at the suburbs/areas where you'd like to live, assessing nearby schools and facilities and assessing the various houses for sale. The business plan could be equated to having applied to the bank for the loan and getting it approved. To not undertake the Opportunity Analysis phase is akin to buying a house without knowing where it's located, what it looks like and if it's suitable.
The Opportunity Evaluation phase is the most important part of starting-up a business because it actually provides a rationale on whether you proceed, modify or scrap the business opportunity altogether.
If we equate the process of buying a house with starting up a business, the Opportunity Evaluation phase would be the time spent looking at the suburbs/areas where you'd like to live, assessing nearby schools and facilities and assessing the various houses for sale. The business plan could be equated to having applied to the bank for the loan and getting it approved. To not undertake the Opportunity Analysis phase is akin to buying a house without knowing where it's located, what it looks like and if it's suitable.
The Opportunity Evaluation phase is the most important part of starting-up a business because it actually provides a rationale on whether you proceed, modify or scrap the business opportunity altogether.
An Opportunity Evaluation is usually made up of analysis of the factors listed below. Some of these may sound technical but all are easy to understand so please keep reading!
- Define the opportunity/Why is it an opportunity?
- What are my business/lifestyle objectives?
- What's my competitive advantage?
- Finances
- Market
- Barriers to entry
- Other
To undertake the Opportunity Evaluation, you must consider each factor in relation to your business idea.
To assist you, over the coming weeks, I'll go through each Opportunity Evaluation factor and ask you to consider your business idea against each. I'll also provide you with a basic Opportunity Evaluation table to assess your business. By the time you have considered all the factors, you'll have a systematic way to assess whether the business is going to give you what you need.
Before I began any of my startups, i always assessed them thoroughly. Doing so didn't guarantee every venture's success, but it greatly increased the chance of selecting a venture that didn't fail...and now i get to eat somtam whenever i want...
To finish, here's some pertinent quotes...
"It's not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters." — Paul "Bear" Bryant
"The will to win is worthless if you do not have the will to prepare." — Thane Yost
Andrew was born in Wales, schooled/studied/worked initially in Australia and has, for the past 10 years, resided/worked across most countries of Asia. He has completed degrees in Education, Rehabilitation and two Business degrees (including an Entrepreneurship MBA). Since graduating from his first degree, he has started up a number of businesses across a broad range of industries. In between startups, he has held Asia Pacific regional management positions for a number of MNCs including Hewlett Packard (HP) and Genzyme. Andrew set-up and currently runs Business Risk & Management Pte Ltd, a company providing consulting services to the oil and gas industry in Asia. He recently established Harrison Basford Marshall Ltd, a men's accessories business selling high quality men's valet's (jewellery boxes) and accessories, online. He is currently establishing a company to manufacture/distribute a sports medicine product.
To assist you, over the coming weeks, I'll go through each Opportunity Evaluation factor and ask you to consider your business idea against each. I'll also provide you with a basic Opportunity Evaluation table to assess your business. By the time you have considered all the factors, you'll have a systematic way to assess whether the business is going to give you what you need.
Before I began any of my startups, i always assessed them thoroughly. Doing so didn't guarantee every venture's success, but it greatly increased the chance of selecting a venture that didn't fail...and now i get to eat somtam whenever i want...
To finish, here's some pertinent quotes...
"It's not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters." — Paul "Bear" Bryant
"The will to win is worthless if you do not have the will to prepare." — Thane Yost
“Victorious
warriors win first then go to war while defeated
warriors go to war first then strive to win.” — Sun
Tzu
Andrew was born in Wales, schooled/studied/worked initially in Australia and has, for the past 10 years, resided/worked across most countries of Asia. He has completed degrees in Education, Rehabilitation and two Business degrees (including an Entrepreneurship MBA). Since graduating from his first degree, he has started up a number of businesses across a broad range of industries. In between startups, he has held Asia Pacific regional management positions for a number of MNCs including Hewlett Packard (HP) and Genzyme. Andrew set-up and currently runs Business Risk & Management Pte Ltd, a company providing consulting services to the oil and gas industry in Asia. He recently established Harrison Basford Marshall Ltd, a men's accessories business selling high quality men's valet's (jewellery boxes) and accessories, online. He is currently establishing a company to manufacture/distribute a sports medicine product. 
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