Opportunity of the week: Cosmetic tourism

This idea has been around for a while and is fast gaining momentum around the globe. With more and more people from countries like the UK and USA opting for affordable cosmetic surgery abroad, cosmetic clinics in countries like Brazil, India, Malaysia and South Africa are focusing there marketing outside of their own borders and cashing in hugely in the process. In the USA alone, it is expected that more than 500 000 people will go abroad to have their teeth, noses, breasts, hips and other parts of their bodies tailored to their needs.

The biggest challenge for medical tourists now are to find reliable and skillful clinics to entrust their bodies to. As we already live in a country with a very high reputation and comparatively low prices for cosmetic surgery, why not start an agency to put clinic and patient together. 

Upside: Apart from the already existing high reputation and low prices South Africa can offer cosmetic tourists, who can resist the opportunity to recover from a draining operation in the one of our game reserves, 'platteland' bed and breakfasts or seaside resorts.

Downside: Advertising abroad is expensive and it may initially be challenging to build your reputation if you are not physically present.

Verdict: A great business idea that seems ideal for the South African entrepreneur with gusto, foreign contacts and a thirst for earning foreign currency.


PLease contact me should you need further information and support with this idea.

Opportunity of the week: Offering WiFi services

This week we consider the exiting and rapidly growing field of WIFI and starting a wireless hotspot business. 

For those of you not familiar with WIFI, it is simply the facility for accessing the web with a computer that is not physically connected via a telephone line or modem. 

Starting a wireless hotspot business is simple. Just approach a local coffee shop, restaurant, bar, hotel, library, retail shop, fitness club, laundromat or any location where customers usually frequent or wait. Bowling alleys and marinas are also great locations. Ask the business owner if he/she would like to attract new customers, retain customers longer or add an additional source of revenue. 

With WIFI already available in some areas of South Africa, now is a good time to enter this market as most laptop computers now also come ready to use this service. 

Upside: There is a huge market in South Africa with every coffee shop, hotel and restaurant being a possible customer. 

Downside: A bit of training may be needed and of course that ever needed skill of selling once again essential.

Verdict: A great business idea for an existing web company or for someone who is a fast learner and can get to market quickly. This is still a niche market but may not be for long.

Please contact me should you need further information and support with this idea.

Developing a new business idea

Once you have got a business idea, take time to refine it. This will help you to decide whether it could be the foundation of a successful business.

There are various established methods of developing a business idea. You can:

    * conduct market research to discover whether your idea fills a gap in the market - see our guide on market research and market reports
    * brainstorm your idea with friends, colleagues or staff - they can give different perspectives on the idea and may know if anyone else is doing the same thing
    * think about whether your idea can take advantage of an opportunity created by new technologies, eg by trading online
    * consider whether social trends will affect demand for your product, eg the increasing demand for organic food or concerns about global warming and carbon footprints

Support for businesses developing new ideas

Designing Demand is a practical mentoring programme developed to help small to medium-sized businesses and technology start-ups use design to improve performance.

It helps businesses embed effective processes for the management of design and innovation and gives managers the skills to exploit design by spotting opportunities, briefing designers and running projects that deliver.

Designing Demand is part of a range of support offered to businesses in England through the government's new Solutions for Business portfolio.

Find out about Designing Demand on the Designing Demand website - Opens in a new window.
Is there a market for my idea?

There are certain criteria you can use to establish whether there is a market or demand for your product or service:

    *
      Does it satisfy or create a market need?
    * Can you identify potential customers?
    * Will it outlive passing trends or capitalise on the trend before it dies away?
    * Is it unique, distinct or superior to those offered by competitors?
    * What competition will it face - direct or indirect, local, national or global?
    * Is the product safe for public use and does it comply with relevant regulations and legislation? Seek legal advice before proceeding.
    * Will the market want your product or service at a realistic price?



Judge your progress

If the goals of any of your checkpoints are not met, you need to analyse why this is the case. Ask yourself whether your objectives were unreasonable. If so, you may need to revise your objectives.

There are circumstances when you should reconsider your original idea.

These include:

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      developing a product or service that isn't commercially viable and won't produce a reasonable financial return
    *
      developing a product that is not technically viable, eg it cannot be manufactured or it doesn't meet performance requirements
    *
      someone else releasing a product or service which is very similar or identical to yours, especially if they are a large or well-established competitor

Finance the development of your idea

Securing adequate funding is one of the biggest obstacles many entrepreneurs face. Your funding needs may also change during the course of product development as it may take longer or cost more than you first expected.

Loans and overdrafts are the most common ways to raise money for a new business.
Government support to help you develop your idea

There are plenty of other ways to raise the finance you need, especially when setting up a new business. Grants and government schemes offering support to new businesses are widely available.

For example, the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) provides funding for innovative products that could help solve a specific government or public sector problem. Successful applicants receive a development contract and 100 per cent funding to demonstrate feasibility and develop a prototype.

Read about support for innovation in our guide on government support for businesses or you can see the page on the Small Business Research Initiative in our guide on support networks and facilities for innovation and R&D.
Other sources of finance to help you develop your idea

As well as loans, overdrafts and government sources of finance, you could also investigate:

    *
      realising, or cashing in, the value of shares
    *
      investment from business angels or venture capitalists
    *
      family loans
    *
      joint ventures
    *
      remortgaging your property
    *
      bank loans

You should build into your financial forecasts a generous margin for contingencies and the unexpected. It's not worth investing your money and then running out before you have completed the development stage. You should look at the state of your funding at each development stage or checkpoint to help evaluate your finance options.
Business plan

Whenever you approach banks, potential investors, business partners or government departments for money you will need to show them a business plan. This should explain:

    *
      the goals of your business
    *
      what the purpose of the business is
    *
      your marketing plan
    *
      what you intend to spend the invested or borrowed money on
    *
      how this will benefit both the business and the investor or lender
    *
      how you intend to repay any lenders

See our guide on how to use your business plan to get funding.

Marketing research for your business idea

Any business plan or start-up worth its weight will start from a foundation of marketing research. A crucial element of the business which will determine if there is demand for the business and if it is feasible. Talk to any successful entrepreneur and one of the first bits of advice provided will be to ensure that you have a good idea of the business product or service will actually sell in the market place.

Market research can play an important role in answering many of these questions and increasing your chances of success. It is much better to invest time researching before you invest your money.

Market research techniques can be basic or sophisticated. You could:

    * canvass the opinion of friends and colleagues
    * survey the public about whether they would use the product or service
    * ask customers of competing products what improvements they would like to see
    * use focus groups to test your product or service
    * monitor your competitors' activities
    * look at what has and hasn't worked in your industry or market niche
    * hire a market research agency
    * try a small scale trial launch - perhaps through your own website or one of the online outlet or auction sites

It is very important that you are as thorough in your market research as possible, as mistakes made at this stage of development could prove costly later on. Remember, the more information you have, the better you will be able to understand your potential customers, the marketplace and how your product fits in. For more information, see our guide on common mistakes when starting up - and how to avoid them.
Plan the development of your idea

Try to identify the key stages or checkpoints in the development of your idea. Each checkpoint gives you a chance to evaluate the progress of your product or service and decide whether you need to make any changes. It will also allow you to consider at the end of each stage whether to progress with the idea. Any idea that has no realistic chance of success should be dropped before too much time or money is invested.

Your checkpoints may include:

    *
      designing - turning your idea into a product or service that can actually be sold
    *
      prototyping - creating a usable example of your product or service, which can then be tested
    *
      protecting - applying for a patent if you have invented a product or type of technology
    *
      financing - raising the money you will need to get your business started
    *
      operations - setting up the structure of your business, eg finding a suitable location, hiring staff, etc
    *
      marketing - working out how you will sell your product or service

At some stage you will probably wish to discuss your idea with a third party. This could be informally, such as seeking advice or encouragement from friends or family, or formally, by hiring a professional consultant, talking to your solicitor or accountant or forming a partnership or joint venture with another company.

Remember, once you put an idea into the public domain it can no longer be considered confidential or a trade secret. You should therefore take steps to protect your intellectual property.

Before talking to third parties, it is a good idea to ask them to sign a non-disclosure agreement to prevent them from sharing the details of your confidential discussion with others. See our guide on non-disclosure agreements.
Intellectual property

Your intellectual property is what sets you apart from competitors. It could be your company brand, invention, design or creative work. Protecting your intellectual property makes strong business sense.

Remember that you cannot protect an idea in its own right but you can protect the tangible work that you do to realise your idea.

There are several legal ways to do this:

    *
      trade marks restrict others from using your brand or logo
    *
      copyright protects original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works
    *
      patents protect inventions
    *
      design rights and registration protect a product's appearance

If you form a partnership or joint venture, draw up a contract defining who owns the idea and what the share of future profits will be.

You must seek professional legal advice before taking any final decisions. A good place to start is by contacting your local Business Link.

You can also contact The Intellectual Property Office with your queries. They can help you protect your brand, creative work or invention. You can apply for a patent online with the Intellectual Property Office.
Test the market

Product testing is important throughout the design process. While you are developing your product or service it's a good idea to keep testing the market to make sure you are still on the right track. You can do this by using:

    *
      Focus groups - ask small groups of your target customers what they want from your product or service.
    *
      Questionnaires - try to get as wide a sample as possible.
    *
      Prototypes - show an early version of your product to customers. You may find that your prototype will go through several stages of development as you refine your idea.

You may need to respond to suggestions from users by modifying the design. Don't be discouraged, as most successful entrepreneurs do not view this as a failure, but as a learning curve.

It's a good idea to send your product to a large or very reputable potential customer or user. A positive testimonial will prove invaluable as you approach other customers.

You may want to consider testing even after your product goes on sale. Ongoing contact with customers can uncover both the shortcomings of your product and possible opportunities that you may have missed.

Once you have a final product, you can then set about building a brand. A brand includes everything that is visible to the customer, such as the product name, its packaging and its delivery.

You also need to consider your pricing policy. You need to cost all the materials, other inputs, machinery, processes and administrative time realistically. You will need to research different suppliers and the cost of marketing and distribution. Then check on the price at which your competitors are selling to customers. You can determine the price of your product or service so that it is attractive to customers as well as making you a profit.

Make sure that you spend enough time and energy on this before the real investment starts.

Entrepreneur shares business sucess tips

Even if you find the right business idea to invest in you still need to make the business work. So now that you have created and submitted your business plan, thought through the various challenges you found business finance with which to support your start-up, what are the real issues you will be dealing with? Legendary entrepreneur Jeff Sacreeshares his tips on how to ensure a successful startup and how using business plan software would have saved him valuable time that he could have used for making the business work..

Jeff's top tips:

    * "Research your market, including the competition."
    * "Use customer feedback to refine and develop your products."
    * "Be persistent and determined when a door slams in your face."

Based in Cornwall, Gecko Headgear Ltd is a designer and manufacturer of marine safety helmets. Founded in 1993 by Jeff Sacree, the company employs seven people and started out as a surfboard business. Jeff explains how he spotted a gap in the niche watersports market, for which he developed an innovative heat-retaining helmet.
What I did
Identify the market

"As a surfer, I could see the potential for a helmet that was both lightweight and heat-retaining. I was also looking for ways to diversify my product offering, since selling surfboards is highly seasonal. I designed and made the first helmet for myself but the idea soon caught on with other surfers.

"However, surfing is a relatively small market and I began wondering if I could base the whole business on my helmet design. I researched other potential users and a conversation with a lifeboatman led me to approach the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), who were immediately interested in using a version of the helmet."
Plan ahead and get funding

"Although I was already making helmets, working with the RNLI was a different ballgame. The helmet they wanted had to be adapted, tested and certified before I could start selling it. I also needed to take on staff, which meant the company needed investment. I got a bank loan on the back of the RNLI's involvement, which was then topped up at various stages.

"A good relationship with the bank is crucial when you're trying to bring an innovative product to market. In our case the product development process took three years - far longer than we initially expected."
Keep innovating

"When the RNLI contract finally brought us success, we were careful not to rest on our laurels.

"To date, we've gone through ten different versions of the safety helmet, refining it in line with customer feedback each time. The helmet can now accept a range of add-ons, such as cameras, torches and communications equipment, according to customer requirements. We've also developed a new full-face helmet for watercraft racing and a range designed to capitalise on the current boom in extreme sports.

"Partnerships with suppliers have been another key to success. For example, we've worked with a manufacturer to develop a new adhesive that can withstand saltwater use. We've also partnered with The Welding Institute to find better ways of welding sections of the helmet together. This has helped us innovate and keep ahead of competitors."
What I'd do differently
Get advice sooner

"Approaching the RNLI was quite a bold move for a one-man band. I had no experience of dealing with large organizations and, with hindsight, I could easily have come unstuck in the early stages. Developing my business plan with the business plan whiz software would have saved me plenty of valuable time and would have helped me approach such sales conversations better prepared."

Business opprtunity of the week - Wine export to new economies

The Business plan software sponsored opportunity of the week this week focused on providing an existing product to new markets. Wine export is certainly nothing new to South African entrepreneurs and our wines can be found in places that many of you may never have heard of. But with the global economy, global tourism and the westernization of many countries comes the change in tastes and of many of the worlds citizens.

Wine sales and especially red wine sales have dramatically increased in countries like Poland, Ireland and India, so to as much as ten fold of what is was 10 years ago. With quality wine a plenty in South Africa and the Rand de-valuing at an alarming pace, the time for exporting wine to new economies could not be better.

Upside: Apart from the already existing high reputation and low prices of South African wine, the Rand is expected to fall even further in 2007. This opportunity can get of the ground with a relatively low initial investment.

Downside: Advertising abroad is expensive and it may initially be challenging to build your reputation if you are not physically present.
There is allot of competition from wine regions in Australia, Chile, the US and Europe.
Verdict: A great business idea that seems ideal for the South African entrepreneur with gusto, foreign contacts and a thirst for earning foreign currency.

Business iopportunity of the week: Exporting African Coffee

Staying with export, our idea this week focus on finding new markets for the great coffee now found in Africa.

Coffee as enjoyed by most of us, not only is South Africa but across the globe have traditionally been produced and sold in South America, India and Arabia.

Although this black gold has also been produced throughout Africa for many generations, it is only now that areas like the US and Europe have started to enjoy African Coffee. The demand for African coffee has further increased in the last few years with the awareness created around free trade, of which free trade coffee has been one of the most popular.
Today popular coffee franchises like Startbucks, Coffee republic, Nero and many others are selling African coffee by the packet load and coffee production in countries like Rwanda and Nigeria can't keep up with the demand.

The opportunity now exists for knowledgeable entrepreneurs or those with contacts in the right areas to get involved in both the production and export of Africa's new black gold.

Upside: Relatively low investment is needed with high profit margins for those entrepreneurs who can take charge of the production process. Low labor costs, high coffee prices and favorable exchange rates makes this one a winner.

Downside: Finding the right marketing channels and guaranteeing the quality of and reliability of supply may be tricky of you are not personally involved
Of course their is still the competition from traditional coffee producers.

Verdict: A great business idea that seems ideal for the South African entrepreneur with gusto, foreign contacts and a thirst for earning foreign currency.


Please contact me should you need further information and support with this idea.