The Big Question Want to know if your startup will succeed? Now you can find out.
By James Park
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
If you aren't sure whether your business idea will translateto a successful venture, take a look at ShouldIStart.com.As the moniker suggests, the website is built to help you answerthat key question before jumping headfirst intoentrepreneurship.
"The site allows visitors to customize a business report,specifically for their own business concept, that aids indetermining their proposed business's economic viability--allbefore spending one cent on the idea," says founder DanielJames Scott, 27.
The site's main feature is the Integra Startup IntelligenceReport, which was created with help from IntegraInformation. ShouldIStart.com asks six questions and generatesa report covering four areas: a brief summary, the industry yourbusiness fits in, the business concept and the startup plan.You'll need to do a bit of research beforehand, such asdetermining what your target market will be. You also need to knowthe NAICS and SIC codes for your business--the site has a searchfunction so you can find the codes in its database.
Ultimately, the report can give you a glimpse of how realisticyour idea is by showing you some hard numbers, such as how muchmoney you'll need for startup, what kind of competitionyou're up against and how they're doing, and how long itmight take you to generate an actual profit.
Everything is confidential, the results are instant, and theservice is free, which means you can always go back and do thereport again.
