Numbers can be useful to test out the viability of the business idea and prompt further questions to ensure you are successful. 

Knowing your numbers will give your supporters/investors/bank/assurance you have thought about all aspects of your business when asking for more support or money.


Note: sometimes numbers can make some questions tough to answer.
At this point you can either innovate or start again. 


So! You have an idea for a business! Test out your idea with the following:



+ How many potential customers do you have?

This is about understanding the market you are working in:

How to think about this:
• Where in NZ do they live?
• Multiple areas? 

• Who are they?

• What are the demographics?

What data can I use:
• regional/national populations/projections (growing or declining) regional data on demographics by sex, age, ethnicity, income, occupation, household type etc
• population

What next:
• What job does my product/service do/solve for my customers?
• Do I know who I will target to use my product/service?
• How will my product/service will solve that person's need or problem?

+ Do you understand the industry you are entering?

How to think about this:
• Can your product/service be exported overseas?
• Is your industry growing or declining?

What data can I use:
• births/deaths of businesses
• in industry
• industry specific data on number of businesses
• people studying in that industry
• Products: economic survey of manufacturing, port export data, overseas merchandise trade

What next:
• Can you prove to investors that you know how the industry is going and where you fit in it?
• What are the other possible markets or avenues could you go into in the future? (exporting goods/services? Add products to portfolio?)

+ Who are your competitors?

How to think about this:
• Who else is doing what you are doing?
• Who else also solves the problem you are solving/improving?

What data can I use:
• business demography stats
• business price indexes
• business births/death agriculture production survey (if product/service is food/animal related) electronic card transactions •
• employment data
• retail trade
• tourism
• wholesale trade

What next:
• Is my idea accessing something that my competitors don't have?
• how similar is their product/service?
• what is their price point?
• are they doing well/is the market saturated? (are businesses opening/closing etc)

Thanks Amy Hooper _ Product Manager at amazing figure.nz 

_ for some awesome Getting Started with Figures tips!

Now, head here for some useful Case Studies, putting figures into business practice