Starting A Company

I am no expert on the subject, but I did start a company once, worked hard, and got lucky. Based on my experience, I recommend that you ask yourself and answer the following questions before trying to start a company.

1. Is there a market for my idea?

   1. Why is nobody else already doing exactly what I am thinking about doing?
   2. Who else, established in a similar business, might soon start doing something similar to what I am thinking about doing?

2. Can my idea be profitable?

   1. Who will be the customers for my product/service?
   2. How much will each customer be willing to pay?
   3. What will it cost to manufacture each of my product or provide my service?
   4. How much money, above my cost, will I make from the sale of each unit?
   5. How many units will I have to sell to cover the costs that I incurred in initially designing, marketing, and selling the product?
   6. Of the customers that will be buying this, are there enough of them that I will be able to sell that many units?

3. Will an investor fund the startup cost for my idea?

   1. How long will it take before I make enough profit that I can go public so that my investors can cash out with an attractive return on their investment.
   2. How can I safeguard my plan by creating a "barrier to entry" to prevent someone else from doing the same thing but just a little bit better/cheaper and stealing the whole market away after I have proved the market to be desirable?