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Starting a business

Weigh up a business idea

The market, the risks and what to do first, laid out plainly.

Best for
Anyone weighing up a new business
Est. time saved
1–2 hours
Works with
ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini

When to use it

  • You have an idea and want a clear first look before you research it properly.

When not to

  • As market research. It works from what you tell it.

What to have ready

  • The idea
  • Who it's for
  • What you bring to it: skills, money and time

The prompt

Fill in the [BRACKETS], then paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.

› the prompt
You're helping me weigh up a business idea. Be practical and honest.

The idea: [DESCRIBE IT]
Who it's for: [YOUR LIKELY CUSTOMERS]
What I bring: [SKILLS, MONEY, TIME]

Please:
1. Sum up the idea in two sentences.
2. Describe two or three likely types of customer, by what they need and why they'd buy. Label these as guesses to check.
3. List the main risks and what could go wrong.
4. Suggest one or two other ways the business could work, such as a different model or customer.
5. Give an honest overall view: worth testing, needs rethinking, or not worth it, and why.
6. Suggest the first three things to do.

Rules:
- Use only what I've told you. Don't invent market sizes, figures or competitors.
- Label every assumption as a guess.

Example input

A made-up example of what the brackets might say.

Idea: a meal-prep service for shift workers at the local hospital. Who for: nurses and doctors on 12-hour shifts. What I bring: chef training, $8,000 and evenings free.

Tips

  • Do this before spending money on a name, logo or website.
  • Then use "Check there's demand before you start" to test the biggest guess.

Related prompts

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