- What is the purpose of your life?
- Does this idea support your purpose?
- What would you regret NOT doing if you were to die within 5 years ?
- Does this opportunity serve avoiding that regret?
- What are your unique strengths ?
- Does this idea use at least 3 of them ?
- What did strengthfinder list as your top 5 strengths ?
- What are your weaknesses ?
- Is a MAJOR prerequisite for success an area that you are weak in?
- How will you compensate for them in this business ?
- Can you outsource your weaknesses in this business directly ?
- Does this idea require or emphasize your unique talents ?
- What other opportunities that DO REQUIRE your unique talents will you NOT be pursuing as a result ?
- What are your goals for starting this business ?
- Is something other than your life's purpose or the use of your unique strengths driving you toward this business ?
- You may have discovered an INTEREST or an aspect of life that you could integrate into your life
a)Just buy the product or use the service and forget the overkill of starting a business around a mere interest
- is this a money making only venture or are you passionate about the nature of the business itself ?
- Do you ONLY want to be successful ?
- Do you need to be seen to succeed in this business for some reason not tied to your life's purpose ?
a)Family expectations only ?
b)Outdated self-image reasons only ?
c)Childhood expectations of yourself
- Is the idea scalable ?
- What are the economies of scale ?
- How exactly do your efforts get multiplied ?
- What are the dis-economies of scale ?
- bureaucracy, taxes, compliance, employees, ownership, buildings, inventory
- Can this idea be implemented by anyone ? (A possible franchise)
- If yes, then why are you able to be more competitive than everyone else ?
- What are your geographical dependencies ?
- Can you get ownership control of the territory by the franchisee ?
- Do you actually like the product ?
- Would you buy this product ?
- Would you use this service ?
- Have you factored in the narrow profit margins involved with multiple competitors ?
- What are the liability exposures involved ?
- Is there another aspect of the same business that is more efficient or has less liability ?
- Do you need extreme liability protection to protect personal assets ?
- What are the opportunity costs of pursuing this business ?
- What is the up front investment ?
- Is it worth NOT paying down your mortgage to invest in this business idea ?
- Is it worth NOT paying off your credit cards to invest in this business ?
- Can you get someone else to put up the money WITHOUT making them a partner and without it being a loan ?
- What is the lifestyle necessary to support the ongoing success of this business ?
- How does that lifestyle fit with the other aspects of your life ?
- What aspect of your personal life are you willing to focus LESS on to make this business succeed ?
- What other opportunities will be closed to you if you spend the next 2 years on this opportunity only ?
- Are you willing to give up working on ALL your other opportunities and focus solely on this one for 2 years ?
- If you were running this business what would a typical day be like for you?
- What would that day be like after you integrate the other elements of your life into this opportunity ?
- Is that what you want your ideal day to be like ?
See also: Does their daily activities match the description of your ideal day ?
- What mistakes can you avoid by learning from others ?
- have you talked with someone who is already successful in this business ?
- Will they show you their taxes or their gross/net receipts ?
a)Present these questions to them and what are their answers ?
b)What would they do if they had to start this business over again ?
- Does their daily activities match the description of your ideal day ?
a)What could you do differently to make it match your ideal day and still be successful ?
- Are there any books on the market written by leaders in this industry that you can learn from ?
- What is the track record of success for others who have tried to start this business ?
- What will enable you to succeed where others have failed ?