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12 Critical Questions to Ask Before Pursuing a Business Idea

October 17, 2014
I’m just like most other entrepreneurs I know -- I have at least three new business ideas before I get out of bed in the morning. And the ideas just keep coming throughout the day.
Thankfully, after years of trial and error as an entrepreneur, I’ve learned to evaluate my new ideas carefully to determine if they are actually an opportunity, instead of just an idea. Even more important, I’ve learned to evaluate if it’s a good opportunity for me and the lifestyle I want to create for myself.

I do that evaluation by asking 12 questions that I’ve found are critical to determining if a business is right for me. If I have more than a few "No" responses, I can immediately cross the idea off my list and forget about it. If it’s all "Yes" responses, I know I have an idea with real potential.
Here’s the list of questions, with my thoughts explaining why each is important to me:

1. Will this business support the lifestyle I want?

I work to live, not live to work. I also love to travel and have flexibility in terms of when I get my work done. That immediately disqualifies many businesses.

2. Is there proven demand for the product I am going to sell?

Creating demand is hard, slow and expensive. I’d rather capture my share of an already existing demand.

3. Is there a clear value proposition that will make my product unique in the marketplace?

Business is no fun if I don’t have some sort of competitive edge.

4. Is there a clear way to market and sell my product or service through existing channels?

Leveraging existing sales channels is the fastest and easiest way I’ve found to get a business off the ground profitably.

5. Can I leverage online marketing and social media to grow this business?

These are two of the most powerful business-building forces of our time -- I want to be sure to take advantage of them.

6. Will this business have gross margins of at least 50 percent and/or net margins of at least 20 percent?

At the end of the day, a business has to make money.

7. Can this business become a sellable asset?

The big win often comes from being able to sell and exit your business when you are ready, but not all businesses are easy to sell.

8. Can I automate the majority of the operations of the business?

I try to take advantage of as much automation as possible to reduce the overhead of operating a business.

9. Can I easily find someone to successfully run the business for me?

Eventually, I’ll likely want someone to run the business for me. Is this a business that can easily be handed over to someone else, or does it require my specific knowledge and talents?

10. Is this a business that I’ll find fun and interesting to run today?

Yes, life insurance is very profitable, but it’s not fun. Profit is not enough. I want to be in businesses that I actually enjoy.

11. Is this a business that other people will find fun and interesting?

I’ve found that it’s much more enjoyable to be in a business that other people think is fun and interesting.

12. Is this something I’ll still be willing to run seven years from now?

The reality is that most businesses don’t grow as quickly or as profitably as I’d like. If I am still running this seven years from now, will I still find it enjoyable?
You should be able to answer "Yes" to the majority of the questions. If not, drop the idea and be thankful that you didn’t invest your time and energy into something that ultimately wouldn’t fulfill your entrepreneurial dreams.

By 
 
Founder, StartupProfs.com


FE USU Potensial Jadi Pusat Keunggulan Cetak Wirausahawan
Harian andalas. Jumat, 04 Mei 2012


Dirut PT BNI Gatot M Suwondo menerima cenderamata dari Dekan FE USU Jhon Tafbu Ritonga (kedua dari kanan) dan Rektor USU Prof Syahril Pasaribu,Dirut PT BNI Gatot M Suwondo menerima cenderamata dari Dekan FE USU Jhon Tafbu Ritonga (kedua dari kanan) dan Rektor USU Prof Syahril Pasaribu, Direktur Utama PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk Gatot Mudiantoro Suwondo mengharapkan, Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Sumatera Utara (FE USU) menjadi salah satu center of excellence (pusat keunggulan) yang mencetak generasi berpendidikan tinggi dan memiliki etika dalam pengembangan konsep wirausaha (entreprenuership).

“Generasi muda Sumut jangan bercita-cita pindah ke Jakarta. Dengan Kawasan Masterplan Percepatan dan Perluasan Pembangunan Ekonomi Indonesia (MP3EI), potensi daerah lokal terutama berbasis agrikultur dapat dioptimalkan. Indonesia membutuhkan lebih banyak wirausaha muda,” kata Gatot dalam kuliah umum kewirausahaan di Fakultas Ekonomi USU, Kamis (3/5).

Pada kesempatan itu pula Dirut PT BNI Gatot M Suwondo dan Rektor USU Prof Dr dr Syahril Pasaribu didampingi Dekan FE USU Drs Jhon Tafbu Ritonga MEc meresmikan grand launching entreprenuership based curriculum sekaligus pemberian beasiswa pendidikan kepada mahasiswa FE USU dari PT BNI secara simbolis.

Menurutnya, pengembangan wirausaha dan kewirausahaan sebagai salah satu solusi efektif terhadap kebijakan ekonomi di Indonesia.  Sebab, peta permasalahan wilayah Sumut dan Aceh adalah menyangkut kebutuhan SDM lokal dengan latar belakang pendidikan tinggi yang harus segera dipenuhi.

Dijelaskannya, perguruan tinggi sangat potensial menjadi wadah pengembangan wirausaha-wirausaha tangguh dan aandal melalui academix exercise maupun practical exercise. “Untuk memperkuat pondasi perekonomian nasional dalam jangka panjang, Indonesia membutuhkan lebih banyak lagi jutaan wirausaha muda sejati yang tangguh, ulet dan tekun,” katanya.
Sedangkan Dekan FE USU Jhon Tafbu Ritonga mengatakan, FE USU telah menerapkan kurikulum kewirausahaan yang dikenal sebagai kurikulum berbasis kompetensi (KBK) sejak tahun 2011/2012. Dengan KBK, para lulusan diharapkan mempunyai kemampuan akademik dan kemampuan melaksanakan praktik bisnis.

Kemampuan melaksanakan praktik bisnis ini, katanya, diwujudkan melalui entreprenuership development program (EDP) dengan pola pembimbingan oleh tim mentoring EDP. Mentor EDP direkrut dari dalam maupun dari luar kampus.

“Setelah memperoleh pengetahuan dasar teori ekonomi, manajemen dan akuntansi mahasiswa diwajibkan membuat rencana bisnis (business plan) secara berkelompok. Selanjutnya mahasiswa melaksanakan praktik bisnis pada student saturday market (SSM), yakni pasar yang digelar setiap hari Sabtu, dimana mahasiswa melakukan berbagai bisnis,” ungkapnya.

Tahun 2012 ini, tambah Ritonga, pesertanya berjumlah 1.000 orang mahasiswa angkatan 2011 yang akan dibagi dalam 250 kelompok bisnis, masing-masing kelompok diwajibkan membuat rencana bisnis dan mempraktekkannya dalam SSM FE USU. SSM FE USU dirancang sebagai business real game yang akan menjadi simulasi atau laboratorium ilmu ekonomi mikro dan ekonomi makro.

Sedangkan, Rektor USU Prof Syahril Pasaribu mengharapkan mahasiswa jangan mengandalkan menjadi PNS tapi hendaknya menanamkan jiwa wirausaha.” Kita minta FE USU terus melakukan kegiatan ini secara rutin dan berkala untuk membuka peluang lulusan berwirausaha,” tambahnya.


Sumber: http://harianandalas.com/




Kemauan dan Jejaring Tentukan Sukses Kewirausahaan

Harian Analisa. Jumat, 04 Mei 2012 01:46 WIB
Kemauan dan Jejaring Tentukan Sukses Kewirausahaan
(Analisa/guntur as) Dirut BNI 46, Gatot M Suwondo menyerahkan secara simbolis beasiswa BNI Entrepreneurs Scholarship FE USU kepada Rektor USU, Syahril Pasaribu yang didampingi Dekan FE USU, Jhon Tafbu Ritonga, di aula fakultas ini, Kamis (3/5).
Medan, (Analisa). Direktur Utama (Dirut) Bank BNI 46, Gatot M Suwondo, mengingatkan, kemauan merupakan faktor terkuat menentukan kesuksesan seseorang menjadi wirausahawan. Faktor lain tak kelah penting adalah jejaring.
"Mulailah dengan membangun jejaring.... Dengan kemauan, maka menentukan semua langkah yang akan kita lakukan," ujarnya kepada ratusan mahasiswa Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Sumatera Utara (FE USU) saat menjadi pembicara dalam kuliah kewirausahaan sekaligus penyerahan beasiswa kewirausahaan (BNI Entrepreneur Scholarship FE USU) dan peluncuran Kurikulum Berbasis Kewirausahaan di fakultas ini, Kampus Padang Bulan, Medan, Kamis (3/5).

Dalam kuliah yang ditutup oleh Rektor USU, Syahril Pasaribu, dan dihadiri antara lain Dekan FE USU, Jhon Tafbu Ritonga serta sivitas akademika fakultas ini, Gatot Suwondo menjelaskan, kesuksesan seseorang tidak tergantung antara lain kepada usia, etnis, bahkan kesempurnaan fisik.

"Yang penting untuk meraih sukses adalah kemauan. Untuk itu, terapkanlah prinsip-prinsip kesuksesan, misalnya, mulai kerjakanlah dari sekarang, tantang diri sendiri untuk bisa mengerjakan sesuatu," ingatnya.

Prinsip-prinsip ini menurut Dirut Bank BNI 46 ini sejalan dengan inti dari kewirausahaan itu sendiri, yakni keberanian mengambil risiko atas bisnis sekaligus kemampuan menangkap peluang.

Di bagian lain, Gatot Suwondo mengingatkan para mahasiswa untuk menentukan tujuan dan kualitas dirinya sendiri apakah ingin menjadi seorang pekerja profesional, pengangguran atau pengusaha.

Dia mengingatkan, setiap universitas atau perguruan tinggi sejatinya dipantau oleh berbagai perusahaan. Sehingga, citra universitas tergantung kepada mahasiswa itu sendiri.

"Citra Anda (universitas) ada di tangan mahasiswa. Ingatlah, dosen hanyalah fasilitator," tegasnya.

BNI Entrepreneur Scholarship

Usai memberikan kuliah dan dialog sekitar tiga jam itu, Dirut BNI Gatot M Suwondo menyerahkan beasiswa kewirausahaan bagi mahasiswa FE USU senilai Rp500 juta. Beasiswa ini secara simbolis diserahkan kepada Rektor USU, Syahril Pasaribu yang kemudian menyerahkannya kepada delapan pimpinan kelompok dengan proposal rancangan bisnis terbaik.

Dekan FE USU, Jhon Tafbu Ritonga, menjelaskan, BNI Entrepreneur scholarship ini diberikan kepada 250 unit usaha. Beasiswa diberikan dalam bentuk Tabunganku yang kelak dapat dijadikan sebagai jaminan kedit pengembangan usaha yang dimulai sejak mahasiswa.

Dukungan BNI Entrepreneur sholarship ini diharapkan melahirkan 100 perusahaan berbadan hukum perseroan terbatas (PT) yang akan menjadi nasabah BNI. Total beasiswa Rp500 juta diimpikan berkembang dan berakumulasi dalam rekening dengan minimal total Rp5 miliar.

Dipaparkannya, beasiswa ini dilatarbelakangi penerapan kurikulum berbasis kewirausahaan yang dikenal sebagai Kurikulum Berbasis Kompetensi (KBK) di FE USU sejak tahun akademik (TA) 2011/2012. Dengan kurikulum ini, lulusan FE USU diharapkan mempunyai kemampuan akadmeik dan kemampuan melaksanakan praktik bisnis.

Kemampuan melaksanakan praktik bisa diwujudkan melalui Entrepreneurship Development Program (EDP) atau Program Pengembangan Kewirausahaan. Dengan dibimbing pelatih, mereka antara lain diwajibkan membuat rencana bisnis secara berkelompok.

Kemudian, mahasiswa mempraktikkan bisnis tersebut pada Student Saturday Market (SSM), yakni pasar yang digelar setiap Sabtu. Di sini mereka melakukan berbagai bisnis. Pada 2012 ini, 1.000 mahasiswa Angkatan 2011 menjadi peserta dan dibagi ke dalam 250 kelompok bisnis.

"SSM FE USU dirancangan sebagai permainan bisnis nyaa yang akan menjadi simulasi atau laboratorium ilmu ekonomi mikro dan makro," paparnya. (gas)

Sumber: http://www.analisadaily.com/

4 Basic Principles of Entrepreneurship
by: Zolar, Category: investment on: September, 25 2011

Do you want to become entrepreneur? Become an entrepreneur could make our financial more stably. But it ain’t easy. In this entry I’ll share 4 basic principles of entrepreneurship. Sorry if my English not good..
 

Entrepreneurship is not just making money
For example, Student A sell yogurt or crackers in the university canteen. While Student B is not selling anything. Who actually is an entrepreneur? No one can define. Sell ??or not an item does not ensure that people become entrepreneurs. For example, Grameen
Bank has become the pioneer Microcredit Banking. This Credit aims to enhance socio-economic status communities. This is an example of non-profit entrepreneurship alone. It is in no way affect product sales. This is called social entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship starts with innovation, continues the skills and knowledge.
An entrepreneur must start with a good idea, different from the others and called the idea “out of the box ‘. Assuming the sale of yogurt is very popular among students of Harvard University. You are about to participate resolved and sell yogurt without feature renewal, innovation and new ideas, then you are not a smart entrepreneur.
For example, the United States is the nation’s number one in product innovation and business process innovation. Who does not excited to see Apple product such as iPad and iPhone brands output in parallel with the development of the current trend. Yes! Indeed, the idea to produce a brand new tablet, cell phone is not enough if no new functions, new design and advanced technology. Management skills and extensive knowledge can not be separated for the realization of an idea into reality.
Why do many people fail to realize the idea? They failed because they have no ability, desire and determination high. If you think you are an entrepreneur, ask yourself whether you creative? Enough knowledge and experience? Can you turn a dream into reality?
Entrepreneurship is not what you do, but how you do it …
What is the difference from McDonald’s restaurant business, burger stalls in the street? They still make the burgers as a food products business. What is different is the McDonald’s restaurant has its own nutritional management system ‘standard’ model of marketing operations, logistics, human resources and so on. So McDonald called the restaurant business franchise business. So McDonald’s is not selling burgers alone. McDonald’s actually selling business opportunities, a comprehensive management system and proven through a franchise license issued to anyone who is interested.
So, just for selling burgers, yogurt or crackers in the carnival business is not entrepreneurial. But how do you sell, the system used, the suggested business model helps you become a successful entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurship is an attitude, mentality and way of thinking
In the main body of the previous three point, emphasizes the importance of ideas, entrepreneurial spirit, skills and knowledge and systems. I do not directly touch about the money, product or investment. I wish to emphasize here before you think about the things above, bear in mind that entrepreneurship is a combination of attitude and mentality can make a decision in peace. If you practice this thing, you will be success. But if you are greedy, impatient and want to find a way short, you will easily be deceived by MLM, get rich quick schemes and so on.
Understand this four principle and use it to evaluate any initiative you to become an entrepreneur, because everyone will offer you the opportunity lucrative business, but is it really a business, or attempt to waste your time and money.

Source: yourfinancialblog
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Flaura: Serial Entrepreneur
 
"When you're responsible, you have to think of different ways to help your family."
These are hardly the words one would expect to hear from your typical 22 year-old university student. But Flaura Ingabire is hardly your typical 22 year-old.
So far, Flaura has run five businesses!
At just 16 years old, Flaura began supporting her family with her first business: a small bar in her village that she ran while home from boarding school over the holidays, but which closed when she was at school. She supplemented the income from the bar by riding a bicycle to local markets on market-days and selling pieces of fabric (that's her second business).
In 2005, Flaura received her first loan from Vision Finance Company, a Kiva Field Partner, in the form of a Village Phone (her third business). VFC leases Village Phones to its clients so that the clients may generate income as customers pay to make calls, and is an important service between rural parts of the world that lack mobile phone service and centers of commerce.
When Flaura finished secondary school, she moved to Byumba town, away from her small village, to pursue her bachelor's degree in management and accounting. For the first year of university, she remained in her village during the week to operate the bar and went to Byumba only on the weekends to attend classes. After one year of commuting, she closed the bar and used the profits from her bar and Village Phone businesses to open a small shop in Byumba (that's her fourth business!). She operated the shop every day, attending classes in the evening.

In October 2008, Flaura received her first Kiva loan. She had already opened a small canteen at her university where she sells drinks to students and professors (that's her fifth business!). With her loan of $750 along with approximately $600 that she had saved in order to buy a photocopy machine, she expanded her canteen and began making photocopies for her classmates. Here, professors do not have enough copies of hand-outs for every student, so Flaura's photocopier has provided all students with access to the day's lessons.
The photocopier purchased with her Kiva loan has enabled her to earn approximately $40 in profit each week, in addition to the $40 per month that her canteen was previously earning and the $40 per month that her shop in Byumba town earns. With her profits, Flaura is able to pay her mother's frequent hospital bills, her sister's school fees, and her own university fees. She is also saving as much as possible which she will use to further expand her business.

Flaura appears at first glance to be just a shy twenty-something, but her ambition and drive reveal that she is an exceptional person who has survived extraordinary circumstances.
Born in a village near Byumba, Rwanda in 1986, Flaura inherited the responsibility of supporting her family after the Genocide in 1994. Though the Genocide began in April, in some regions violence broke out in the first three months of 1994, and Flaura's home was one of the targets of the early violence and was attacked in March of that year. Her father was killed during the attack and her mother was beaten until the genocidaires thought she was dead. Her mother was later found in the house and taken to the hospital. She survived, but with severe injuries that continue to debilitate her, prevent her from working, and continually send her to the hospital.
Flaura, her brother and sister survived the attack because they fled to the bush before the massacre took place. They hid there for 3 days before returning to their home. A month later, once the Genocide began in earnest, Flaura and her siblings again fled to the bush. They stayed in hiding for three weeks before the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) troops came in from Uganda and ended the killings in the north of the country, where Byumba is located. She considers herself lucky that her home town is so close to the border with Uganda, noting that in other parts of the country it took much longer for the RPF to arrive and stop the genocidaires.
Flaura is poised to become the first university graduate in her family. She is also an employer of two people, and an exemplary client of Vision Finance Company, the first international microfinance institution in Rwanda to introduce voluntary savings, individual loans, and Village Phones. Even when discussing her painful past or the weight of her responsibility, Flaura does not reveal a hint of self-pity or bitterness and spends no time lamenting the circumstances that have determined her life.
This spring, Flaura hopes to take out a loan of $2,000 from VFC in order to expand her canteen into a full-fledged cafeteria and to buy computers with internet access for the students to use. There are currently no computers on her university's campus, nor is there any establishment that sells food.
Flaura's ambition is exceptional and her business ideas are savvy. When asked how she came up with each of her plans, she explains that, "When you're responsible, you have to think of different ways to help your family. I am so thankful for VFC and my lenders for making this possible."

source: Kiva
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Yes we canteen

- Believing in entrepreneurship and diversity, two Learning Lab students took charge of one of the major canteens of the University of Amsterdam. Inviting local businesses and restaurants to offer their products, YES WE CANTEEN showed an alternative to the current Dutch one-caterer-one-choice approach.

Things just don't change. That is the feeling you can get when studying at a Dutch university. The same big lecture halls, the same old PowerPoint presentations teachers flip through every year and during lunch break: the same food that some major university caterer puts on your plate.
Maaike Reuver and Charlotte van Leeuwen, both participants in the Learning Lab, broke this cycle. Creating YES WE CANTEEN, these two students took charge of one of the major canteens of the University of Amsterdam giving local entrepreneurs the chance to offer their products.
With more than 700 visitors on a daily basis, YES WE CANTEEN was running throughout last week. This attracted not only curious students but also business representatives (Rabobank) and organizations like ACE sharing the vision of entrepreneurship and diversity.
Originally, YES WE CANTEEN's catering concept was inspired by food courts as they are popular at Asian and American universities.  This stands in stark contrast to the current one-caterer-one-choice approach adopted by most Dutch universities.

Source: ScienceGuide
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