All good journeys have a starting point
All good journeys have a starting point
Last week, I talked about the fact that when you do market research on your business’ niche, its probably not going to be all roses and sunshine. Meaning, you’ll find a mix of things that are positive and growing in your niche and some of the challenges the industry/niche is facing. And that’s okay. Sometimes, that’s where you’ll find your wedge.
This week, we’re talking about how to start finding your wedge. Or rather, how to start defining it.
To help get you started, I’ve created a framework that’s got just 4 steps. The idea is that these steps will help you gain clarity in what you offer (product development, product refinement/pivot) and how you talk about it (content creation, messaging, etc.).
The first of these 4 steps is creating what I call a Starting Point Sentence. A Starting Point Sentence is a simple, one-line, not-too-detailed description of what your business does (or will do if you are just starting out). This starting point isn’t about having the thing worked out entirely.
This step is a rough draft of your business idea. The idea here is to create a basic – basic – description of what you are planning to offer in your business.
If you’ve already got a business and want to research a pivot idea, then your sentence will be about that pivot idea.
Don’t worry about getting this sentence just right. The whole point of why we’re doing research is to fine-tune this sentence, so you are just getting started here.
So, the sentence…It’s a brief description of what you plan to offer, a brief description of your business.
Starting Point Sentence:
1. Simple, one-line description of your business.
2. It’s a rough draft, just a place to start your research.
3. Don’t over-think it, just get it out on paper.
For me, my Starting Point Sentence would be: The Idea Compass teaches entrepreneurs how to do their own market research.
It includes the basics of what I plan to do, who I plan to offer it to. BUT – it does not yet narrow down what types of entrepreneurs or what or how I plan to teach them. AND, importantly, it doesn’t say how this benefits my customers.
Your SPS is the place where you’ll start your research.
Next week, we’ll talk about how you can use your sentence to check out what’s going on in your niche’s market.
See you then!
P.S. Want all 4 steps now? Subscribe here to get them for free and follow along over the next 3 weeks.