How To Identify Entrepreneurial Opportunities

　　 Opportunity Recognition is the beginning of entrepreneurship and the premise of entrepreneurship. around Entrepreneurship Opportunity, some basic problems are all those who want to start a business, such as: why is he, rather than someone else, seeing the opportunity? Why can and how can we become entrepreneurial opportunities without systematic argumentation? What are the feasibility studies of opportunity identification? Wait.

Opportunities favor specific entrepreneurs.

Both theorists and practitioners have been trying to answer: why do some people, rather than others, see an opportunity? What is unique about these entrepreneurs who have seen opportunities? Generally speaking, the following factors are considered to be some characteristics of these people.

The first is previous experience. Prior experience in specific industries helps entrepreneurs identify opportunities. A survey found that about 70% of entrepreneurial opportunities are actually copying or modifying previous ideas or ideas, rather than finding new entrepreneurial opportunities.

The second is professional knowledge. People who have more expertise in one field will be more alert and sensitive than others. For example, a computer engineer is more alert and sensitive to opportunities and needs in the computer industry than a lawyer.

The third is the social network. It is an indisputable fact that the depth and breadth of personal social network affect opportunity recognition. Usually, people who have established a large number of social network contacts with experts will get more opportunities than those with a small number of networks.

The fourth is creativity. To a certain extent, opportunity recognition is actually a creative process, a process of continuous creative thinking. In the process of many products, services and businesses, and even in many interesting business legends, we can see the shadow of creative thinking.

Although these characteristics do not necessarily lead to entrepreneurial success, these characteristics often have more advantages than other entrepreneurs and are more likely to succeed.

First there is Originality Let's talk about opportunities.

Entrepreneurship exists because of opportunity, and opportunity is a favorable situation with time. Professor Kozna of New York University believes that opportunity is unspecified market demand or unused resources or capabilities. Opportunity has a strong timeliness, or even a fleeting moment. Once it is grasped by others, it will not exist. And opportunity always exists. One kind of demand is satisfied, another kind of demand arises. One kind of opportunity disappears and another kind of opportunity arises. Most opportunities are not obvious and need to be discovered and excavated. If it is obvious that there will always be someone to develop, the advantages will soon disappear.

The recognition of opportunities originates from creativity, and creativity is an innovative idea with entrepreneurial orientation. Before creativity is created, the existence of opportunities is not significant. Creativity with potential value generally has the following basic characteristics:

Unique, novel and difficult to imitate. The essence of entrepreneurship is innovation. The novelty of creativity can be new technology and new solutions, which can be differentiated solutions or better measures. In addition, novelty also means a certain degree of leadership. Many entrepreneurs, when choosing entrepreneurial opportunities, are concerned about the priority areas of national policy. They are looking for leading projects. The idea of not having novelty will not only attract investors and consumers in the future, but will not inspire the entrepreneurs themselves. Novelty can also increase the difficulty of imitation.

Objective, real and operational. Valuable creativity is definitely not utopian, but has practical significance and practical value. The simple criterion is that we can develop products or services that can seize opportunities, and there is a real demand for products or services in the market, or we can find ways to enable potential consumers to accept products or services.

In addition, potential creativity must have the value of users and the value of entrepreneurs. The value characteristics of creativity are fundamental. Good ideas should bring real value to consumers. The value of creativity depends on market testing. Good ideas need to be tested in the market. At the same time, good creativity must bring value to entrepreneurs, which is the premise of entrepreneurial motivation.

It should be noted that creativity is different from ideas. The difference is that creativity has entrepreneurial orientation. Entrepreneurs who start their business will develop their creativity to a business concept that can be tested in the market very soon. The concept of business not only embodies the problems that customers are experiencing, but also the problems that entrepreneurs are trying to solve, and also reflects the means taken to solve the problem of customer interests and benefits. For example, helping the ball player to retrieve the lost ball is an idea. It is a real problem to throw the ball easily. Some people are trying to solve this problem by placing an electronic tag in golf balls, and developing handheld devices to search for missing balls is a way to solve the problem.

Entrepreneurial opportunities refer to opportunities that are suitable for entrepreneurship, especially creativity. Seeing opportunities, creating ideas and developing clear business concepts mean that entrepreneurs recognize opportunities. As for whether business concepts developed are worth investing in resources and whether they can become valuable entrepreneurial opportunities, they need serious demonstration.

Do you have the chance to do the market test first?

The entrepreneur's evaluation of opportunity comes from their initial judgment, and the initial judgment is usually hypothetical plus simple calculation. When Niu Gensheng talked about the market potential of milk, he said: "people eat their food and feed their milk, but the level of milk consumption per capita in China is only a fraction of that in the United States." Perhaps this is his intuitive judgement of the value of dairy products. Such judgments seem absolutely unreliable, and may even feel childish but effective. Opportunity is fleeting. If we have to conduct thorough market research, it will often be difficult to grasp opportunities. Assuming that simple calculation is only the initial judgement of opportunities for entrepreneurs, further investigation of entrepreneurial activities requires further evaluation of opportunity value.

It is easy for entrepreneurs to make the mistake that they think they are good, and that they should be satisfied by wishful thinking. "Do not impose on others what you do not want yourself to do", but "what you want to do to others" may not work. How to determine customer preferences can usually be tested by means of market testing to get products or services to the real market. Market testing can be said to be a relatively special market research, and it is a compulsory course for entrepreneurs to read. Market testing is not the same as market research. It is two different things to ask whether a consumer wants to buy and whether the consumer actually buys a lot. Nestle coffee is a market test to open the Chinese market and choose some cities to deliver pouches of coffee to households.

In addition, business mode design is also part of opportunity identification and argumentation, though entrepreneurs are difficult to design a complete business model in the stage of opportunity recognition. The business model is an architecture of products, services and information flows, including the description of different participants and their roles, the potential benefits of various participants, and the source of corporate income.

It should be noted that the profit model should not be equated with business models. For example, selling tea in Fujian to Russia and selling it at a high price is a profitable mode. Newspapers can expand readers through cheap and good news, and attract enterprises to advertise in newspapers, thereby earning advertising fees for enterprises. It is also a profit model. Such a profit model is easy to imitate. The profit model is only part of the business model. Business models often contain the logic of making longer chains. Only by developing effective business models can we inspire enough customers and suppliers to participate in cooperation and create more successful new enterprises.

Entrepreneurship is the process of seeking opportunities under the constraints of current resource conditions, and combining different resources to make use of and develop opportunities and create value. To put it simply, entrepreneurship is to identify opportunities and develop opportunities. After experiencing creativity, developing business concepts, market testing and designing business models, entrepreneurs can identify entrepreneurial opportunities and start writing business plans.