Which of your new business ideas are worth pursuing?

These are the five easy steps to determining which of your business ideas are worth pursuing:

STEP 1.  Think of a Great Idea for a New Business

     Chances are you already have one, if not several, business ideas you'd like to try out.  If you're still waiting for the light-bulb to go off in your head, or your idea didn't pan out the way you thought it would, we can only recommend you keep trying.  Remember to keep your eyes open, your ears to the ground, and the left and right sides of your brain fully operational.

STEP 2.  Research Your New Business Idea

     If you think your idea is a winner, then do some preliminary research to back up your gut feelings.  For example, before opening an ice-cream shop you'd want to know how much it would cost to rent the shop, how many people walk by, and how many other ice-cream shops are already located on the street.

STEP 3.  Use EntreQuik to Financially Analyze Your New Business Idea

     Start EntreQuik, and enter your data.

STEP 4.  Review Your Financial Statements

     View and evaluate your projected financial statements.  If necessary, make revisions to your data.

STEP 5.  Create Multiple Scenarios

     It's almost impossible for you to predict 100% how well your new business idea will do.  All businesses, some more than others, are vulnerable to outside factors completely beyond their control.  A good example is the vulnerability fruit-growers have to weather conditions, transportation links, and market demand.  An unusually cold winter could ruin a farmer's peach crop, while a problem like pesticide in imported peaches could mean bigger-than-usual sales for local crops. To get a complete picture of all your business prospects we suggest you make multiple scenarios--pessimistic, most likely, and optimistic--so you can be prepared for anything.