Mapping wheel for business ideas
⌛ Read time: 8 minutes
🔧 Tools mentioned in the article:
Do you have a business idea? That’s great! Do you also have a mentor who’ll help you on your way? Even better! In this article we introduce the first tool you should use when planning your entrepreneurship process, and structuring the mentor relation: The Mapping Wheel for Business Ideas.
In the mapping wheel, you evaluate where your are - and where you want to be, with regard to eight key elements for succeeding as an entrepreneur: 1) Business idea, 2) readiness of product, 3) skills and resources, 4) network and partnerships, 5) visibility and branding, 6) funding and economy, 7) infrastructure, and 8) motivation and planning.
In the mapping wheel, you indicate how far you have come in each of these key areas, by marking the wheel from the middle and outwards. When finished, you can also indicate where you aim to be after six months. This gives an excellent overview of your strong and weak points, and what you should focus on in the mentor relation.
Below, we’ll go through the eight key areas, and provide some examples and questions to trigger reflection and discussion.
Business idea
How strong is your business idea?
How unique is your product/ service?
How important is your product/ service? How does it help people?
Is there sufficient demand and a will to pay?
Do you have your own niche?
Who are your competitors?
Do you have any advantages over your competitors?
Readiness of product
Is your product ready to be delivered?
If the final version is not ready, can you provide a pilot project or prototype?
Will you use early bird discounts or other campaigns to get initial customers?
Skills and resources
How qualified are you and your business?
Are there skills or resources you must acquire, to succeed as an entrepreneur?
Do you have sufficient knowledge of topics such a economy, contracts, sales and marketing?
If not, where can you find such knowledge or skill?
Network and partnerships
Do you have the necessary network and partnerships to realize your business idea?
Who do you need to get in touch with?
Where and how can you reach out to them?
Visibility and branding
How well-known is your product/ service?
How good are you at branding and visibility?
Do you have a website and does it look professional?
Are you on relevant social media channels and post content regularly?
Do you have satisfied customers and how can you ensure they spread the message?
Do you have a logo, graphic profile, slogan, as well as relevant texts, documents, images, videos etc.
Funding and economy
Do you have the funding needed to put your business idea into life?
How much time can you dedicate to your business idea, and for how long, while waiting for it to become profitable?
Are you dependent on investments or other funding?
Do you have any idea how and where to find such funding?
Infrastructure
Do you have the relevant infrastructure to sell and deliver your product/ service?
Do you have a payment solution?
Do you have a online store/ booking solution if you need one?
Do you have a system for distributing your product to your buyers?
Motivation and planning
How motivated are you, and how well do you structure your entrepreneurship process?
How motivated are you?
Where does the motivation come from? Is it internal or external?
Do you enjoy the entrepreneurship process?
How will you keep your motivation when things get difficult?
Do you have goals, and a clear plan for you business idea?
Does your plan contain the concrete tasks, habits and routines needed to reach your goals?
As you plan your business journey and/ or mentor relation the list of things to consider is long, and may feel intimidating. Remember that you don’t need to have everything figured our right away, and the most important is to just jump right in. Although planning is important, only action takes you forward.
Lots of luck! 😊