Idea Archives - BOLLYWOOD SURKHIYAN

Profitable Business Idea – Manufacturing of Exclusive Curtains

Curtains are obligatory element of an interior and it will not be replaced by jalousies any similar products. Even having ordered jalousies on windows, masters of the house or apartments will not refuse from habitual curtains. The enterprises which would offer rather original and beautiful curtains simply are not present in the majority of cities, and demand for such goods is huge. It is also warmed up by a new direction of textile design which advises to change curtains depending on a season and mood. So, having opened business on tailoring of curtains, you can be assured that you will not remain without work.

By the way, sellers of jalousies and sellers of curtains are not competitors today at all, but allies. Far not everyone is ready to hang up heavy portieres in the apartment but it is necessary to be protected from light somehow. Therefore citizens will acquire a jalousie and as their kind does not associate with house cosiness, will be covered with a habitual tulle curtains. Similar cooperation will be favorable to both parties: sellers of a jalousie can propagandize their goods as the important element intended for protection of an interior, including curtains, from burning out. Sellers of curtains — can position their products as the part of interior that gives house cosiness.

Any successful business on tailoring of curtains is based on two components: salon where goods is presented, and shop where it is produced. However, in a century of information technologies, the role of an exhibition platform can play an Internet site where colorful photos of different curtains will be presented. But remember, the buyer is inclined to trust more to goods he can not only see, but also touch. Curtains salon will perfectly serve this purpose. Also it is not so necessarily to open shop on tailoring. It is possible to find home workers which have the sewing-machines.

To organize your own salon, you will need the area about 30 sq. m. You can also use your usual apartment as salon. Apartment will almost not demands repair because all walls, windows and apertures in it will be hanged up by various stylish curtains. It is necessary to present many of the stylistic variety, after your entire client does not wish to buy ready-made curtains, and prefers to sew exclusive curtains, wants something especial. As a rule, he searches not simply for pieces of a fabric which cover windows, but stylish curtains from the qualitative fabric, executed by the skilled designer on the basis of its wishes so the surroundings of your salon should represent your goods in all its magnificence.

If you have decided to open shop, it is required to you to begin with five work places for which there are enough 90 sq. meters of the area. You can acquire the sewing machine of the Chinese production for $500, overlock costs about $2000, it is desirable to have also the machine for secret seams – its price is in limits of one thousand dollars.

Basically, variants are possible, as they say. You can have shop, and not have own salon. In this case you can simply carry out orders of salons which have no own production. Advantage of the given variant – you are relieved of necessity of dialogue with whimsical clients. However in practice more often work of the enterprise for tailoring of curtains is builds under other scheme: the businessman opens own salon and incurs all creative part, and the foreign sewing shop is directly engaged in sewing. The main thing here is availability of the talented designer which can create really exclusive things. Such designer will be simultaneously both to carry out gauging, and to work as the sales manager. It is desirable to have also and the person with own transport and certain abilities which will hang up ready curtains in-home at clients. This person will also mount eaves. As a rule, these workers are involved from outside for the fixed payment.

Approximate figures on work of the salon look as follows. Different manufacturers estimate the catalogue of fabrics where the product samples are presented, in 20-1000 dollars. On one window the average needed about 6 meters. The margin constitutes not less than 50%, depending on ambitions of the designer it can be and much bigger. As a rule, one customer brings to salon from 700 to 1000 thousand dollars. As practice shows, investments of a few thousand dollars will be quite enough for that business has started to work – very good if to consider, how fast it can pay off.

Business Ideas – Key Factors To Analyze Before Pursuing A Business Idea

Performing a search for business ideas on any of the popular search engines can leave you completely overwhelmed. The sheer number of ideas and opportunities is alarming, and your task of finding the idea that best suits you is made complicated. You will be exposed to small business ideas, home business ideas, franchises and various other opportunities when researching your options. When deciding on the right opportunity you should take a few important factors into account.

It is no secret that a large percentage of new businesses will never turn-over a profit and there are many reasons for this. For you to avoid falling prey to business failure it is imperative that you do the groundwork before choosing any business idea available to you. The factors that need to be analyzed before you commit to any direction are as follows:

Capital Investment:

Many businesses fail because of lack of funds. Before you even look for suitable business ideas and opportunities you should determine how much of money you have to invest or whether or not you can attract finance through potential investors. You should also look at your borrowing power and the equity you have to put down as collateral when borrowing funds.

Your financial position will greatly influence the type of business you pursue.

Business Skills

Many people become over-zealous with their current positions in life, and they hastily pursue any opportunity that comes their way to improve their standard of living. A fatal error made by many of these individuals is not acquiring the necessary business skills before committing to a business venture. You would be wise to acquire the necessary skills before taking the leap into the business world.

Passion is Everything

An attribute that injects the motivation within you to continue with any business venture is passion. If you lack the passion in your business endeavours you will soon lose heart and quit when the challenges in the business world strike with force. Possessing passion in what you do is an element that will catapult you toward success.

Saturated Markets

Performing a thorough feasibility study before committing to a venture is integral. You will need to look at your target market and determine whether there is a need for what you are offering, and if the need does exist you will also have to evaluate how many other competitors are offering a product/service that is currently fulfilling this particular consumer need. Entering markets that are over-supplied and saturated is a recipe for disaster.

Location is Paramount

If you decide to look for business opportunities in the offline world, and you manage to find one that suits you, your next task will be to find a location that is accessible to potential customers, and suppliers. You will also need to take factors like security, parking facilities and proximity of competitors into account.

When you have analyzed the business opportunities out there, you should formulate a business plan. It is imperative that you structure a detailed business plan as this will help you to attract investors and it will also provide you with an element of leverage if you are approaching a bank for a loan.

The above mentioned criteria is not exhaustive but it does form a list of some of the most critical factors that need to be considered when evaluating various business ideas.

Finding the Best Business Idea For Your Home Based Business

How many home based business opportunities are available to you? If you want to make money online at home, you really have many options to choose from. The big question is – which one will give you the biggest chance of success? Is there a ‘one size fits all’ answer? The simple truth is that not every opportunity is right for everyone, and not every opportunity will bring you the greatest amount of profit.

So, what are some home business ideas that can make money online for you? The quick and dirty answer is: the one that best suits your particular set of needs. Make a list of your priorities, including a high income; a low-risk schedule; freedom; flexibility; work-life balance; independence; something in your range of skills and expertise; and interesting work that you have an interest in… You can take this list with you and talk to people who are working from home on the same things that you would be considering. Chances are that you will find some great niches that fit your standards and your desires.

But what if you want to get started right away? It’s easy to think that you can jump into a new business idea and be successful immediately, but this often isn’t the case. It takes many different things to make sure that you will be able to get through the hurdles and actually make it to a point where you are seeing profit. If you don’t work at it slowly, you will be setting yourself up for failure. Here’s the lowdown on some different things that you should consider as you create your own business idea:

First, you need to think about what you have to offer. If you don’t have any ideas as to what to do as a freelance writer, a lowdown on finding a niche is very important. Many beginners go into this completely clueless. But if you know that you have a skill that others are desperately seeking, you may be able to provide them with the service they are looking for without having to spend much time building up a website or getting traffic to it.

Another thing to consider is what kinds of products or services would best fit a niche that you would like to get started in. In this case, the lowdown on finding the best business idea for you would include taking a look at what you love to do and what you can offer others. If writing is not your strongest point, but you love to get creative, consider freelance data entry. Freelance data entry does not require a lot of startup capital, but you still need to have the skills that will allow you to be successful in this area. The best lowdown on finding the best business idea for you is to simply start looking at what you like to do and what you can offer others.

There are many other areas of freelance writing that you can explore in order to make the most out of your home based online business. Freelance writers are in high demand online. If you have the skills that are needed to do well in this field, there is no reason that you should not be able to find a great home-based online business that will give you the income that you want.

Problems Faced When Looking For Investors For Your Business Idea

Venture capital firms, business angels and investors are people who make money out of investing in upcoming or established businesses in exchange for a share of the company. Finding a good investor to back your business idea can be a great help, specially if you still control most of your business, but it’s also considerably more difficult than finding a small business bank loan and other types of finance. Investors have very clear ideas about what they expect of their investment, and you will need to be able to prove that your business idea has a high likelihood of being very profitable. If you are getting ready to raise money for your business, the following are some of the most frequent problems you may face:

Being unprepared

This is often the worst problem a new entrepreneur may find when trying to sell his business idea to investors. You may know your product and have a strong feeling that it’s going to work, but you’ll need numbers to back your intuition to prove it to any investor. Investors are often entrepreneurs themselves, and know how to recognize a great business idea and a suitable person to make a profit out of that idea. They won’t put money on a business if the management (that’s you) doesn’t seem prepared or doesn’t know the target market intimately. A solid business plan and the ability to sell that business plan to another businessman are the key requirements to get your idea considered. Make sure you can answer uncomfortable questions, such as quoting data about your competition and showing an understanding of your audience and why your product is perfect for them.

Asking for too much, or offering too little

Investors often want a quick return on their investment, so if you are asking for a lot of money to launch your idea and you don’t expect to be profitable for a long time you should expect a hard negotiation ahead. You may be offered less money than you were after, or asked for a larger percentage of your business in exchange for it. Asking for a £20.000 investment in exchange for a 5% of a company that isn’t going to make any money the first year is just not going to work, no matter how good your idea is. An investor will think of ROI, and that means they want to own enough of your company to make a profit on your investment. Be prepared to negotiate, and remember that even if your business idea is great, the investor is also incurring a risk by trusting you and is understandable to want something in exchange for that.

Attitude, business management skills and dress codes

If the investor thinks that you are not really a good business person they may hesitate to provide you with their financial backing, no matter how good your idea is. If you come across as a great engineer but cannot show that you are also great at managing and sales you may be harming your chances of receiving funding, or you may find out that your investor actually wants to take an active part on your business instead of just letting you manage everything. Consider your meeting with the investors as a job interview, and as such aim to give an impression of security, professionalism and good business manners.

This often means wearing professional attire (yes, a suit, even if your business is an innovative ecological farm for casual artists) and being able to talk about your product in business terms, not only about its features or why it’s so great. If the investors see you as too young, too casual or too crazy they won’t invest because you’ll be seen as risky. If you can also show your experience as an entrepreneur without lying or being too obvious you may greatly increase your chances of success.

Business Opportunities – Which Business Idea Is Right For You?

Many entrepreneurs decide to go into business and then cast about for the ideal business concept. There is nothing wrong in this approach, but it does beg the question as to how you determine which business opportunity is right for you and whether the business idea is worth pursuing. The formal business planning process provides for this type of analysis. It is a process that helps the small business owner remove their ‘rose coloured glasses’ and to investigate the business idea based on hard facts and realistic analysis. The planning tool used to determine the viability of a business opportunity is called a feasibility study.

The goal of the feasibility study is to minimise the degree of risk that a business owner is about to undertake. At the completion of a feasibility study you should be able to conclude if the opportunity has potential for profit and is therefore worth the investment of your time, effort and finance. If the study proves that the business idea is financially viable, much of the information collated can be used in the formal business planning documents.

A word of warning, curb your enthusiasm for a business idea until after the feasibility study has been concluded. Don’t spend a cent, don’t sign anything, don’t get anything underway. Heeding this single warning could save you much money, time and grief.

A detailed feasibility study should include:

The Business Opportunity

Start with a description of the business opportunity in as much detail as possible.

Legal Constraints

You need to investigate whether there are any legal constraints to conducting this type of business. This could include regulatory requirements for specific qualifications or licenses. Home based businesses usually require permission from the local council to operate from the home. There is no point launching into a business which requires qualifications or licenses you do not have.

Market and Customers

You need to undertake market research to determine the size of the market for your products and services and to profile the characteristics of both the market, your competitors and potential customers. You should also assess whether you can offer something unique, better or different to the offers being made by your competitors and determine likely purchase quantities and price points of your products. Your market research should also include identify any issues which are likely to impact the market or the industry in the near future.

Operational Issues

Operational issues such as business location and the type of facilities required need to be investigated and addressed. It examines the space required immediately and assesses whether that will be adequate given your projected business growth at various timeframes. It asks how you will identify the most suitable location and type of space.

It should also examine how you will finance the required space. Will your purchase, rent or take out a long-term lease?

It examines the logistical aspects of operating the business such as how will you handle, transport and store goods into and out of your business? What distribution channels will you use? Do you need transport such as a car, van, truck or forklift? What other plant and equipment are needed to commence operations and what is needed over the life of the business?

Management Skills

This examines the management aspects of the business. It asks what types and level of skills are required to run this particular business? Who will manage the business? What roles are required and who will fulfill those roles? This includes marketing, finances, sales, managing information technology etc.

Critically, you need to examine the skills required by this business opportunity and compare them to your own skills. Do you have the skills required to undertake this business? If not, can they be acquired readily? Are you even interested in acquiring these skills?

Organisational Skills

This examines the skills required by the business. It asks how many additional staff will be required to operate this business idea. Will you need to recruit new workers? If so, what skills and competency levels will be required. Do you know how to recruit these staff members and are you able to effectively induct and train these new recruits?

Do you have sufficient knowledge as to the legal aspects of employing staff? Are you aware of regulations relating to salaries and wages, taxation, workers compensation, workplace safety and equal opportunity? Do you know where to go to obtain this information?

Financial Issues

This takes a detailed look at the financial issues relating to the business idea. This includes the all important questions of what capital is required to start the business and how will you raise the required capital. What is your estimate of profitability after all costs, including tax, have been deducted? How much do you require to live on per annum? How long will it take to breakeven.

You also need to examine your own skills in relation to managing the finances. Are you able to do your own bookkeeping? Can you manage cashflows? Do you know where to go for expert financial advice?

Sales and Marketing

This looks at what you expect your sales and marketing strategy to be. It takes a look at how much time and money will be allocated to the sales and marketing function and determines what the most cost-effective promotional methods should be. It also asks who will be responsible for this function.

Conclusions

The above is not an exhaustive list of questions that should be asked when conducting a feasibility study but it gives you the flavour of what it should be. When you have done your research and found answers to the key questions you will be in a position to undertake a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It allows you to take all the information you have gathered and to make an overall assessment of the viability of the business.

Undertaking a feasibility study sounds like a lot of work, especially when you are eager to get started, but if you want to save yourself a lot of time, money, energy and grief, take the time to assess whether the business idea really is worth your investment. A feasibility study can help you sift through a raft of business ideas and allow you to discard those that are not worth pursuing and help you to identify the one that is most likely to be successful.

How To Evaluate A Business Idea For Developing An Enterprise

Why Do You Need A Business Plan?

Planning is a process that never ends for all businesses. It is extremely important in the early stages of any venture when the entrepreneur will need to prepare a preliminary business plan.

There are different types of plans that may be part of any business operation. These include but not limited to Financial plans, Marketing plan, Human Resource plan, Production plans, Sales plans etc. Plans may be short term or long term or may be strategic or operational. Whatever the type of plan or the function, plans have one important purpose; to provide guidance and structure to management in a rapidly changing market environment.

A business plan on the other hand is a written document prepared by the entrepreneur that describes all the relevant external and internal elements involved in starting a new venture. It is often an integration of functional plans such as marketing, finance, manufacturing and human resources. It also addresses both short term and long term decision making for the first three years of operation. Thus, the business plan, or road map, answers the strategic questions of where am I now? Where am I going? And how will I get there? Potential investors, suppliers and even customers will request or require a business plan.

How I Prepared My Preliminary Project Proposal

In my case, I followed the following break downs keeping each section as brief as possible.

1. Background: in this section, I established the context of the project by giving an account of the problem it is trying to address.

2. State of the art: I gave an overview of existing and emerging technology in the field, including an account of rival technologies and a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of the various options.

3. Proposal: I wrote an overview of the proposed project and the approach, i.e. the activities which I will be undertaken to achieve the project objectives. Clearly establish the research element or novelty component in the proposal.

4. Consortium: an overview of the proposed manpower and establish the required ability to carry out the project successfully (e.g. skills, competencies, etc.)

5. Objectives and Deliverables: Identify (1) the objectives and (2) the deliverables of the proposed project.

6. Competitiveness: if applicable, establish the competitiveness or advantages of the proposed solution compared to other solutions, whether these already exist or are still being researched.

7. Cost: give an overview of the project cost (including start-up cost and working capital requirements).

8. Impact: this section should include:

i. Markets and Uses: identify possible uses and markets for the deliverables of the project.

ii. Benefits and Beneficiaries: identify the beneficiaries of the project’s results (e.g. the project participants, the general public, third parties) and the manner in which they will benefit.

iii. Roadmap: give an indication regarding what further steps, effort, costs and timeframes are necessary before tangible benefits can be realized from the deliverables or results of the project (unless these are realized within the lifetime of the project).

iv. Spillover Benefits: identify any secondary benefits of the project (e.g. facilitating participation in funding programmes, improving Malta’s ranking, strengthening Malta’s reputation in a particular area, etc.)

Preparing a Detailed Business Plan

Stages of writing a business plan are: After deciding to go into business, before starting the business and when updating is required.

Business plans can be written for retail business, wholesale business, service business, manufacturing and any other type of business.

A business plan is written by doing the following:

Identifying all the questions that could be asked about the business.

Determining what further information needs to be gathered to answer all the questions.

Obtaining all the necessary information.

Comparing various alternatives

Making a decision on each question.

A business plan should:

Have a good appearance

Provide an index

Provide a summary

Number each copy

Be signed to show who is submitting it.

Depend on the nature of the business.

A business plan should be organized to carry a cover page, table of contents, executive summary, business description, Marketing plan, organizational plan, operational plan, financial plan and appendices.

Outline of a typical business plan is as below;

1. Title: Feasibility study Report on______________________

Commissioned by_________________________

2. Project consultants

3. Table of contents:

Executive Summary

The Report

Project Background

Objective of study

Project description and

Loan advancement

Promoter

Location

Market and marketing plan

Potential customers

Competition

Pricing

Sales Tactics

Advertising and Promotion

Distribution.

Technical Feasibility and management plan:

Factory

Machinery

Overhead charges

Packaging materials

Raw materials Manpower and Labour costs.

Financial Projection/Feasibility:

Overview on capital requirement

Financial plan

Projected cash flow

Projected profit and loss account

Projected balance sheet

Break-even analysis

Source and application of funds

Organization Plan:

Form of ownership

Identification of partners/Principal shareholders

Authority of Principals.

Management team background

Roles and responsibilities of members of organization

Assessment of Risk:

Evaluate weakness of business

New technologies

Contingency plans.

Schedules:

12 months projected sales

12 months projected purchase

Fixed Assets and depreciation schedule

Profitability index.

Thanks for reading

Bring Your Idea Alive

Business Idea

Virtually every business has started from an idea that has been put into practice by the actions of the individual. In this day and age with globalization and the digital world that we live in that business idea needs to be researched thoroughly to ensure that it has a good chance of it being a success.

Business Research

Once the idea seems feasible then the business research should start. The first mistake to make is to rush into that business without having a clear plan in place to launch the business.

On line Research

Find out what the international trends are and research the products and services that you have in mind through the internet. There are lots of ways of doing this and the first is to research companies that are doing a similar business. Establish what services they provide, what their delivery and payment terms are. How you can fit your idea into that and ways of offering something unique to give you the edge over your competitors.

The best way to find what the trends are is to join social media sites and establish if your business idea is trending through the various sites. Social media sites that use photos, and incorporate web sites is a sure way to conduct the business idea research because not only do you see what the trends are but how the different companies present and brand themselves.

If it is an idea that will not be used on line but a service or products within the a town or community one can still use the internet to confirm if the idea is a good one by seeing what response one will get through forums, social media and even blog. Search for companies within the idea that you might have on the social media sites as most of the modern companies advertise through social media as well. What makes this an effective way is that one can see how many followers there are for a particular company in that niche.

Research from other sources

Most countries have Institutions and resources in place for new entrepreneur to do their market research such as business schools, libraries and in some cases Universities. A good place to do research is at trade shows and see what is on display and how the public are receiving all the different new ideas being launched in the market. Reading business magazines because most industries have magazines that are used for advertising purposes.

Establishing the Business Plan

Once the research has been completed then the business plan can be done. By now one will have a very good idea what the competitors are offering and how the new venture can offer it’s products within that niche. Establishing the niche market is important as one does not want to waste time and finances on a market that would not respond positively to the particular idea.

The business plan at this stage will move into what is required to get the idea alive and start launching it. How much funds would be required to start the business and how quickly one would start seeing return on investment. These are important because if a startup is looking for funds the cash flow requirements are essential to operate daily.

The new venture will also need a clear plan in the business plan how the products or services will be launched. Either through advertising on the web, flyers, radio or TV. The startup will need to plan for a period of slow growth because most businesses take time and a lot of hard work to get to the stage where it is self-sustainable.

Be prepared

It is also important to be prepared for unforeseen stumbling blocks. If the startup thinks that after the research the plan is not going successful there should be contingency plans. Some people will scrap the idea completely but that is not necessarily the answer. In all businesses there needs to be changes of plan at times but as long as these risks have been thought through they can be managed and still present a successful solution.

Startups and Entrepreneur

As a startup the most daunting thing now that you have a good idea how you would like to launch it is to find the finance to put it all in place. As a startup the chances that you have enough cash to get the business operating is slim and therefore one needs to find an investor.

Investors are in this day and age easy but at the same time more difficult because of the many angel investors out there. The angel investors will probably find the startup first but if that happens be sure to do the due diligence of that particular investor. There would be nothing worse than getting your idea launched and then the investor is unable to support your project at a later stage. Do all the necessary PR and brand promotion even before you launch you idea.

To get an investor interested you not only need a sound business plan but also why the particular products or service will be successful. Make sure that you have a good pitch to sell the idea should you happen to come across someone who would like to invest in your idea.

To establish a good relationship with an investor requires good communication. Communicate with the investor straight away because they are important to your business and would be unwise to put them on hold or ignore their emails. This would create trust between you and your investor. Honesty is also very important because the investor would like to know exactly what results are being achieved and what problems the startup or entrepreneur are having. This is not necessarily a bad thing especially for startups because most investors will have experience with business and could give good advice on how to solve problems.

As a start up or entrepreneur there are opportunities out there for unique ideas and investors are available to help you get them off the ground and with good research and business plan you could have a successful business.

Keep The Fountain Of Business Idea Flowing

In an age of catastrophic population growth and shrinking job opportunities, why not take a look at putting up your own business? There has never been a better time to be an entrepreneur. No, it is not too late nor it is too early to open for business.

If you choose to try your luck at having your own business, start right by keeping your business idea fountain flowing. The many enterprises you see today, from the ones you see in your neighborhood to the ones you read about in the business section of various broadsheets, are once merely ideas; they are products of one’s fertile imagination and spirit of innovation.

Know Thyself

First things first, to be an effective business owner someday, you must know yourself. Ask yourself if you have even the smallest trickle of the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur. While not everybody can be a businessman, the good thing is everybody can learn the skills of how to be a good businessman.

Do you have foresight? Are you creative or imaginative enough to come up with new ideas and products? Are you courageous enough to face the challenges of running your own enterprise? Can you endure criticism and instead channel your frustrations to churning out more innovative business ideas?

Being an entrepreneur is not easy. And the very first step is to know yourself so that you can adapt your ideas to your personality. Thus, you will be able to upgrade your skills or choose a business that suits your character.

Be In The Loop

You would not want to offer fire proof paints with asbestos! Asbestos has been banned for decades now because it has poisonous side effects. To have great business ideas, you should know a lot about what is happening around you. Read the papers or visit trade fairs; this way, you will be sensitive to what is current and what could be the trend in the future in terms of products and services to offer.

Do Not Reinvent The Wheel

You can not offer baked goodies with holes in the middle and call them bread wheels. What you can do is try to improve or create unique toppings and syrups for your goodies and still call them donuts. Forty years ago, computers are found only in science fiction comic books. But today they are as essential as the cooking stove.

As much as your creativity can take you, come up with ideas of new products and services to offer. Nothing beats being the first in an industry. If not, your ideas should try to add more value to existing products and services. Like the story of cellular phones and cameras; they used to be two different gadgets, but now it is not uncommon to see camera phones.

Force yourself to think of new ideas and concepts. This will keep your idea fountain alive and flowing. Besides, it is always a good business sense to venture into new or improved product lines.

Join The Club

There is no point in having excellent business ideas without having the heart to start your own business. Turning the business switch on is different from just having the famed light bulb flashing inside your head. When you are actually starting and running your business, you get the feel of the industry you are in; more and more business ideas will pour out.

Always be aware and prepare yourself when that light bulb in your head blinks. You might never realize it but you will be at a crossroad between living your dreams and living in mediocrity. Good luck on your venture!

10 Key Steps to Turn Your Mobile App Idea Into Reality

Many people and companies are coming up with new mobile app ideas to make it big in their field. They either want to reach a new audience or better serve their existing customers.However, people are relatively unaware of the steps or process needed to turn a mobile app idea into reality. Due to lack of ability and information among startups and established companies, most of them don’t know how to go about shaping the app idea.

I have helped several companies build their mobile app. Here are the 10 key steps I have followed in my 6 years of experience. I believe that my list can help anyone from any industry get their mobile app idea turned into reality.

Step 1: Write down your feature list

Conceptualize your idea begins by taking some notes. Before doing anything, you should write whatever comes to your mind. Writing down the feature list on a piece of paper helps you focus on your idea and expand on it. I recommend writing your idea several times and in many ways. This list also will be helpful when you are discussing with your co-founders, designers, investors or developers; they all are going to ask for it. Note that you should have them sign an NDA before you share your feature list. Your feature list should be clean and easy to understand. Also make sure it has popular and unique features, which will play the major role in success of your product.

Step 2: Do the market research

After writing your strong list of features, you want to do market research to find the competition, trends and market needs. Make sure there are no similar apps in the market. If there are, find out their reviews, ratings, feedback, and what is missing in them. Add features in your app that would make it unique and more attractive to the audience. After doing market research, you should update your feature list.

Step 3: Identify the users/audience

It is very important to find who would use your app and who the audience would be for your product. Your users are from a particular industry, gender, region, age group, existing customers, income group, specific profession, or any other group. Once you identify some demographics about the audience, you can find out what people from these demographics prefer or like. Knowing your audience helps you re-engineer your app and the features in it to cater to them. Your whole project moves around user engagement. You can also conduct focus group studies to find out what your audience may like or dislike. Your audience will decide your product’s success, and this insight from focus study can go a long way in defining product success.

Step 4: Identify the monetization strategy

Making money is the biggest reward and energizes for your idea. You can make money from your app idea in several ways: subscription fee, in-app buy, in-app ads, user data, sponsorship. You want to know which one works for your app, audience and market. Launching a paid app does not work these days, but you can make the app free with in-app purchase option for more functions. In-app ads are also losing their shine these days due to user experience. Having user data is becoming a big monetization technique, as you can use it to make indirect money. You can find sponsorship for the app; this works for an app with a social mission. It is important for you to select 1 or 2 techniques that would give you good return on investment.

Step 5: Create a rough sketch/wire frame

You may not have done it before, or may not know how to do it. However, the rough sketch or wire frame helps you define the concept and refine the requirements of your product. You can draw a rough sketch using paper and pencil, while a wire frame can be created using online tools. When you start doing the sketch/wire frame, you will be able to polish your app idea and features list further. Also, this helps you decide the proper navigation of the application. You don’t need technical skills for this step, but you need to have a common-sense understanding of how navigation works. Your wire frames, along with your feature list, will create very good specifications for you to build the mobile app.

Step 6: Approach local mobile app developers and get estimates

Once you have your first version of the feature list and wire frame, you want to start identifying vendors who can build your mobile app in a high-quality, cost-effective way. You should search for local vendors and some global vendors and reach out to them. Once you shortlist 5 to 6 good vendors, have them sign the NDA and send them the project details. A good vendor should check your details and ask you lots of questions. You should make sure to answer them in detail so that your idea is fully communicated. A good vendor should also be able to give you some suggestions to improve your idea. You should get proposals from multiple vendors, with time and cost for development, and compare them. You should check the vendors on past performance, process, price, time, testimonial and their eagerness to work for you. Finally, you should be able to select one vendor and start working with them.

Step 7: Complete the UI/UX

Once you have selected the company, you should work with them to create the UI/UX of the app. You should have them first create the detailed wire frame of the application so that you can visualize each screen, function and flow of the application. After review, you can decide to add or remove features. Once the wire frame is complete, you want them to create the visual design of the application. It should give the color, theme, fonts and visual appeal for your idea. This step will give you a near-final picture of what your mobile app would look like and how it would flow. After completing it, have your vendor reevaluate the development plan, time and cost. If the first estimate of time/cost has increased, get more funding or cut some of the features. You want to pay the right value to your mobile app developer.

Step 8: Get the app developed and tested

Have your app developer start building the app for you. They should be able to send you the app (in progress) every week and you should be able to test and give them feedback. It is very essential for you to QA the app as they develop it, as this helps you control the quality, cost and timeline, and learn whether the mobile app needs some tweaks. You can involve your friends in the testing as well. If you come up with new sets of features during the development, discuss those with your app developer and get the time and cost estimate. If it fits your budget, get it done right away. If not, wait for the next phase.

Step 9: Launch the app and market it

Once you are satisfied with the app, launch it in the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store. You should also start marketing the app. Get some consulting from experts on app marketing. You can also do self-marketing. Start on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as this is an easy way to spread the word about the app. You should also reach out to reporters and bloggers who may be interested in your app and write about it. A press release on free sites or a paid site can be very handy. If you have more in your budget, you can hire a PR or app marketing company.

Step 10: Gather market response and prepare for the next phase

After the first launch and marketing, you can collect user data, market response and demand. If you receive a good response, you can plan the next phase for the app. Repeat Step 1 through 9 for the next phase. This time, you should be able do them a lot faster and more efficiently. If the app is not received well in the market, find out what is hampering growth and have a plan of action.

Your Teacher Was Wrong! Copying From Others Can Be A Smart Idea

Every day in schools throughout the U.S., kids are being taught that copying the work of others is the “wrong” thing to do. It is a “punishable” offense.

U.S. law also protects against the unauthorized copying of trade secrets, copyrighted works, audio and video productions, and a host of other types of products. These, too, are “punishable” offenses.

However, if you want to become a successful business with a competitive edge that leads your competition, there are times when it makes sense to “copy” the lead of others who have found the secret formula for success. Here are 3 ways to follow others to success:

1. Keep a “swipe” file of advertisements, sales letters, brochures, and other marketing materials to use as guidelines when producing your own. Focus on companies with similar target markets that are not competitors of yours,

Most successful copywriters follow the lead of others in just this way. The idea is not to “steal” the work of others word for word, but to use it as a guide to generate your own materials.

In the era of social media, it is also good to note what is creating the “buzz” in conversations. Look for trends in television shows, YouTube videos, and especially in viral marketing that gets consumer response. Remember though that these successful campaigns may fade quickly, and it may be hard to duplicate a viral success that’s “been there, done that.”

2. Look for a proven business formula to follow.

Why reinvent the wheel when there is a proven model to follow? Many successful businesses have started by following the lead of another business and improved on the formula. Look for ways to improve the business model, such as better customer service, more relevant marketing, or greater customer value.

If you are going to become a successful business with a competitive edge that leads your competition, it makes sense to study the best practices of successful companies, and adapt them to your company as it grows. Using proven models reduces risk and allows a company to accelerate its growth.

3. Copy the standards of your industry while creating your own unique brand.

Industries have their own styles, like their own language patterns and terminology. Use these to be seen as an “insider” who knows what’s going on.

But develop your own unique and distinctive brand characteristics to be remembered. You do not want to blend in the background because you fail to differentiate yourself from the pack. This is a good time to copy from other industries. Look for branding strategies and tactics that you think would be a good fit for your industry. Since you are not competing with those companies you are copying because you are in a different industry, you may be able to get valuable advice from them as well.