A company was born every minute last year, with research from national enterprise campaign StartUp Britain showing that 581,173 businesses were registered with Companies House last year. With the advent of new technology, starting a business has never been easier, but how can aspiring entrepreneurs stay ahead of the curve?
Do your Research
When looking at creating any business plan, market research is crucial to success. But the market you need to look at is your potential market. The reason for this is that your target market can be much wider than the one already reached by existing businesses.
Stay on Trend
As David Williamson, Business Start-up Journey facilitator shares, “Checking out markets that are trending can give anyone considering a new business an indication of market demand. 99% of all new start-ups are adaptive i.e. they create something that already exists, only offer it differently.”
Adapt
Take the Porridge Café, London’s next trendy breakfast spot that will serve nothing but bowls of porridge. This quirky venture came about when the owners simply noticed a trend for high-quality, creative porridge dishes when on holiday in Scandinavia. This niche is a diversification of the Cereal Killer Café that opened just last year in the capital which serves over 120 cereals from around the world.
Opportunities to Exploit
Analysts have recognised specific trends that should be exploited including:
- ‘Free from’ foods
- Peruvian cuisine
- On demand service apps
- Quirky cafes
- Ethical fashion brands
- Pet sitting
- Custom-made 3D products
- Care services
- Bike accessories
- Property tech
There are of course some big themes and indicators to look out for that cut across all sectors – Bitcoin, Digital Health, Wearable Tech and the Internet of Things which foresees a trend around ordinary old things such as microwave ovens connecting to the internet.
Think Ahead
If you can offer something different in markets like this, then you might be on a roll. But bear in mind, these are the trends now; unless it is something particularly innovative there will be a lot of people already ahead of the curve.
As David advises, “Five years ago everyone was talking apps, there is still huge potential of course, but you are going to have to be offering something really different to be seen in the app market.”
It would seem that the key to success therefore, is to think about what the trends might be in two years’ time and get on the curve earlier. But remember the biggest opportunity is looking at what is already there and offer it differently.