Every now and then, I have people who want to share various different business ideas with me to see what I think about them. Sometimes it's in a formal way, and other times it's in casual conversation.

Inevitably, my strategist's brain starts whirring with questions. Most importantly: why and so what?

These aren't flippant questions, despite how they may appear.

In my experience, business owners and leaders often have great affinity for their work. It's understandable when they've put so much effort and thought into building a business around an idea. And in many ways that confidence is great! The work is borne out of passion, beliefs, and values they hold dear. There's also a sincere desire to help others.

I feel similarly about my own business. 

The challenge comes when you become so attached or immersed in what you've created (or plan to create) that you can't see the flaws anymore.

This happens to writers editing their own content. If you've read through something multiple times, the spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes tend not to stand out anymore.

When we get too close to something we're working on, it can strip away the objectivity we need to make it even better (especially if it's already good). The same is true of ideas. 

Questions like “why?” and “so what?” help you take a step back and look at things with more objectivity and a critical eye.

Taking time to flesh them out and test them is the reason these questions matter.

Let's talk about the why

I believe why is the most important question you can ask in business and marketing. Going forward with anything that doesn't have a substantive answer to “why?” definitely needs more consideration.

A substantive answer to the question of why includes an understanding of the problem you want to solve, and who has the problem.

What’s the intention behind this business, service, or offering? Who are you supporting? Why do they need support? What is it that makes your solution different from others already available? 

Consider your ideal clients, gain clarity on their pain points, and do the appropriate market research to find the answers to these questions.

This information is critical to assessing whether or not to act on an idea. It also gives you what you need to determine whether the idea is aligned with your existing business and if it helps the audience you're targeting.

Let's talk about the so what

The "so what" is the other important question that's focused on an external-to-your-business perspective.

Why should your client care about this? This should be followed closely by examining whether or not they already care.

If they already care, there's something there. If they don’t already, but they can easily be convinced to care through simple efforts to raise awareness of a problem, again, you're onto something.

The goal in answering all these questions is to avoid making decisions that rely too much on instinct or moving forward without a plan.

Even with these questions answered though, you're not done yet. 

Do you have the capacity to take on this service or offering?

The next thing to consider when evaluating if you should introduce a new offering into your business, is whether this idea is aligned with your goals, and is realistic based on your resources and plans. 

Oftentimes we want to take on additional projects, commit to new marketing endeavours, or introduce a new offer into our business because it sounds good, other people are doing it, or we’re caught up in the potential financial return. 

But when we make decisions based on these external factors without first assessing our internal capacity, desires, lifestyle, and resources, we’re setting ourselves up for failure, burnout, or both down the road. 

Here are some additional questions to explore as you make a decision, particularly if you're looking to shift the focus of your business.

What business goals will this idea help you achieve?

New products, services, and offerings can be great additions to a business, but only if they are complementary to the business you already operate, and the problems you help to solve.

While it’s common for businesses to branch out as they grow, expand, and learn more about their clientele (see: vertical vs. horizontal growth strategy), this trajectory needs to be logical for both you and your clients.

So, consider why you started your business initially. 

Are you hoping to solve a problem? Serve a particular number of people? Bring in a certain level of income for yourself? Be able to donate a specific dollar amount to charity? 

How does this new offer or service support you in reaching the business goals you’ve set?

Do you have the resources to take it on?

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of a new idea. 

While that excitement can be great for building momentum and getting an idea off the ground, we also need to bring things back down to earth if we want to approach business strategically. 

What are the logistics behind this new idea? What will it actually take to implement? 

Consider:

• Your time, both in up-front creation and ongoing maintenance (get clear on timelines for execution and launch, taking into account everything else you already have going on) 

• Financial costs associated with new tools or softwares you’ll need to invest in, or the cost of production 

• Money potentially lost because of the time you’re spending on this new project instead of refining offerings already in place or delivering current client/customer work 

• Energy spent creating, sharing, and executing on this idea 

• Time, money, and energy from any team members who will be involved 

If you have the resources, great! Are you willing to utilize them for this project, knowing that it might mean taking away from resources on different projects? 

If you don't have the resources, what would you need and what's the impact on your business?

If you don’t have the resources currently, there are always ways to attain them. 

However, those methods also generally come with a cost. Whether that be financial, energetic, or time-based, those costs should be assessed to determine the potential impact on your business. 

For example, if you’re lacking the time to execute on this new idea, hiring support might be a great idea to get it implemented quickly. But that hire will have costs associated, which may or may not be manageable for you in this current season of business. 

If you have the time but are lacking the money you need for production (for example), consider if it makes sense for you to look for investors, or to take pre-orders. Both of these also come with risks, and may or may not be worth it for you. 

What impact will this idea have on previously planned activities? Will you have to delay or pull back on other projects?

Some ideas are time sensitive. If that’s the case, it might be worth considering putting other projects on hold in order to implement this one if it’s going to be instrumental in moving your business forward. 

However, it’s important to be aware of what this will look like in terms of income, timelines, and customer response. 

If you have certain offers in place that you’re thinking of pulling, how does that bode for your company reputation? Will customers or clients be disappointed? 

Are you risking falling behind on work for current clients, because of this focus on attracting new ones? 

Remember that current customer satisfaction and word-of-mouth marketing can make or break a company! 

If the fit isn't great now, what's at stake if you wait?

If time is less of a concern and you’re going to wait on the idea, consider what else might be at stake. 

Are you missing out on valuable market share or potential income? How will your clients or customers fare without this idea being implemented? What would be the impact if another competitor put out a similar idea before you? 

How can you remain committed to pouring your time and energy into your current offerings, to serve your customers effectively and reach your business goals, if you are going to wait on this idea?

Is there the potential to incorporate some aspects of this new service or product into what you already offer? 

What about sending out surveys or collecting feedback to see if it will be well received if you launch it in the future? 

Or putting out a minimum viable product (“a product with enough features to attract early-adopter customers and validate a product idea early in the product development cycle”)? 

There are a number of options for you if you decide to wait on your idea, but it’s up to you to weigh each path and figure out which one makes sense for your business. 

And, if you decide to wait, be sure to write your idea down! Document all of this brainstorming and analysis so you can revisit it down the road when you’re ready. 

Try to be as objective and honest as possible 

After reviewing all of these factors, what direction makes the most sense for you to take? 

Being honest with yourself in answering these questions and pulling in others who can help you look at things objectively, can help you come to a more informed decision. 

To clarify – I’m not here to shut down all new ideas, or to encourage you to think small when it comes to your business. 

I am all for getting creative, serving people in new ways, and executing on your ideas to create a business that helps you reach your goals. 

However, there are an unfortunate number of businesses who fail to stand the test of time because of a lack of clarity, strategy, and direction. 

When you’re able to objectively assess whether a new idea, service, or product makes sense for you when considering the big picture, it will keep you from making impulsive changes that feel good in the moment, but lead to burnout, regret, and frustration long-term.