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How great is your business idea from a CENTS perspective? Find out instantly...

Scot

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mercenariez

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@MJ DeMarco ,

Do you still believe that opportunities shouldn’t be overlooked due to a poor Scale score? I’m scared people will go “ah my market is only 100 people, not gonna try that at all”, when the fact of the matter is that conquering small markets is much more realizable as a small business, whereas taking over a million to billion person size market means much more sacrifice than most people think. Plus, when you conquer small markets it gives you experience and an already existing customer base from which it becomes easier to Scale than trying right from the get go to capture the interest of a billion people.

I also think new entrepreneurs will likely over-score their Need rating here with this tool unless they have a lot of experience already.
 
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Bekit

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Introducing -- Grade My Business Idea -- a website tool that will instantly grade and rate your business ideas in accordance to a weighted CENTS Framework whereas NEED and SCALE is most important, plus a MARKET ACCESS variable. (If you can't reach a market with a message, do you have a market??)

Grade My Business Idea: Business Ideas and Opportunities Rated Fast

I thought it was about time I created a grading tool with properly weighted metrics to determine the value of potential business ideas. Now anytime someone at the forum comes forward with an idea, I (we) can easily use this tool for dynamic grading. The tool specifies strengths, weaknesses, and puts the idea in perspective of the execution multiplier scale which I detailed at the end of The Millionaire Fastlane .

Just a few examples recently in the last few weeks here...

THE UPSCALE INVENTION

THE BROCHURE HOLDER INVENTION

DIGITAL MARKETING AGENCY / SEO SERVICES (Common "foot in the pool" business around here)

THE DIALYSIS TRANSPORT IDEA

So moving forward, ANYONE can have their ideas rated and graded according to my CENTS Framework, and they don't need to ask me personally! It's all there for you to review, assuming you're honest with your answers.

The tool has only been up for a few days and still have a few tweaks left, but for the most part, it should work.

Enjoy!
Love this!

I tried the tool on my employer's business and got a D-. :eek:

(Link to results)

However, it raised a question.

There was a section that estimated the lifetime profitability of this business at $25,000, but we are in an industry where the profit on a single sale is in the 6-7 figure range.

Maybe there could be a question that asks for some numbers?
 
G

Guest70495

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@MJ DeMarco
I was wondering if you've checked the ideas that you've made a profit with using this system and how well they performed on the algorithm compared to the real-life?

@MJ DeMarco ,

Do you still believe that opportunities shouldn’t be overlooked due to a poor Scale score? I’m scared people will go “ah my market is only 100 people, not gonna try that at all”, when the fact of the matter is that conquering small markets is much more realizable as a small business, whereas taking over a million to billion person size market means much more sacrifice than most people think. Plus, when you conquer small markets it gives you experience and an already existing customer base from which it becomes easier to Scale than trying right from the get-go to capture the interest of a billion people.

I also think new entrepreneurs will likely over-score their Need rating here with this tool unless they have a lot of experience already.

I have had massive success with small niche markets that have people who are passionate about it. They are very easy to market and easy to get 400-600% ROIs using just online advertising. But, the lifetime value for such ventures is always limited to your reach. So, you're better of making a churn and burn type brand. What I mean is invest in the product rather than brands for these ventures.
 
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rollerskates

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I got a rock.

No, I got a big fat D-, but I assumed worst case scenario for everything, because I'm an optimist like that. It did make me think, though, about how I could raise the grade.
 
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MJ DeMarco

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Do you still believe that opportunities shouldn’t be overlooked due to a poor Scale score?

Depends on the person. If you have no experience at all, any business idea will work.

There was a section that estimated the lifetime profitability of this business at $25,000, but we are in an industry where the profit on a single sale is in the 6-7 figure range.

I supposed I should change the verbiage -- remember, scale can be scale (numbers) or magnitude (big ticket sizes). In that case, you would adjust the scale rating upward to reflect the LARGE ticket item.

I was wondering if you've checked the ideas that you've made a profit with using this system and how well they performed on the algorithm compared to the real-life?

It was spot on. Obviously it won't be entirely accurate for every idea, but it should be able to ball-park it pretty good. If not, I tweak it.
 

BlackLynx

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Please don't hate me @MJ DeMarco , but I have to ask, do you store the information?

It's actually pretty genius if so.

You can literally run off with the A+ business ideas- pick those you like and execute a hundred times better than someone who has a great idea but probably isn't going to follow up on this.

I don't want to be cynical, but you might want to be pretty open about that upfront and put it into a disclaimer.

EDIT: I didn't go through the entire question list - and now I feel slightly ashamed to having asked the question. It's a great marketing tool to bring people to the forum/books. I saw something sinister in there - so my apologies. I'll see myself out ;)
 
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srodrigo

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Thanks @MJ DeMarco that's an amazing tool ;)

One feature I'd love to have is to be able to export the results to PDF, or send them by email. I know I can just save the page, but the other 2 are usually better.

EDIT: Forget what I said, it's there. I'm blind :D
 
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MJ DeMarco

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MJ DeMarco

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but I have to ask, do you store the information?

No, I do not ... there is no DB attached to it. The biz idea count is just a simple text file.

I don't want to be cynical, but you might want to be pretty open about that upfront and put it into a disclaimer.

You're absolutely right. I need to put that up there pronto, although I don't ask the user for specific details to "out" any idea, it would be nice to make sure folks know that.
 

samuraijack

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Love the website. Shown it to some of my friends already who are interested in starting their own business.

It's a great way to drive home the importance of how much the entrepreneur plays in the worth of the business and not just the idea.

While it's in the book and they have already read it, there's something about interacting and making it more personal that makes them go "ooohhhhh"
 
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MJ DeMarco

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You can literally run off with the A+ business ideas- pick those you like and execute a hundred times better than someone who has a great idea but probably isn't going to follow up on this.

I don't want to be cynical, but you might want to be pretty open about that upfront and put it into a disclaimer.

You make a VALID point, don't apologize. One shouldn't need to review all the questions FIRST before deciding if they should trust the website.

I've added a disclaimer.

1566244261605.png
 

Not Most People

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This is awesome. Never seen anything else quite like it.

Perfect for all of the wantrepreneurs I know who seem to come up with a new 'business idea' every week lol
 

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Screenshot_2019-08-19 GradeMyBusinessIdea com (Results).png
Thanks, MJ! Great value here.

Grade B/78.
Yup, it's bad news. Launched new business this past June. Expert is contributing content quite slowly and is not ready to schedule events. So the first product release is already pushed back from August to November. I hated the feeling of disobeying the Commandment of Control and now I'm paying for it.
 
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Nikhil God

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Haha no weaknesses, I kinda saw that coming. The only weakness it could have is that I stay stuck in this daily life mosh pit and never get to it. A very handy tool to say the least!
 
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Sandholdt

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I have a question about entry:
Say it's an easy to produce product, but if I had a patent on it, could I then realistically slide the entry bar higher?
 

biophase

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It’s interesting to me how people
perceive their own businesses. I got a C- and $500,000. I’ve already made that with mine.

But then I see others getting B’s and A’s.

I go tweak the parameters as generous as I can and still get a B-.

Lol
 

MTF

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Nicely done. I like the clear explanations behind the 1-10 scale as it makes it super easy to grade your idea in a few minutes.

I got D- for my self-publishing business. Despite it, it still has generated for me well over the $250,000 mentioned on the results page assuming excellent execution and I believe I gave truthful objective answers. However, I understand that this tool is just a handy way to test your idea against the framework that doesn't have to be 100% accurate all the time (and I actually agree with this rating given how much my business recently suffered because it's violating the commandment of control).

I find the explanation of the weaknesses pretty useful not only to assess a potential idea, but also to fix an existing business (@MJ DeMarco, there are some typos in the results which I put in bold):

Your need is lukewarm.
The need you've identified, or the relative value as compared to existing options is below average to weak. This really impacts the other variables negatively since NEED is the most important. If demand is weak, the scale metric is largely diminished.

In my case, its relative value as compared to existing options is weak because it's a very popular genre so people can choose from many similar books and mine aren't that different (only somewhat different so I graded them 4). The solution would be to identify a different genre where it would be easier to stand out, which is actually something I've been considering recently.

Weak entry barriers.
The resources needed to launch this business (time, skill, money) is pretty weak. While that might be good for you in the short-term financially, it's not good for the long term. With limited entry barriers to this business, you will likely find increasing competition over time to the point margins erode and profitability disappears. This makes the longevity of this entreprise questionable. Caution is advised.

Pretty hard to increase the barrier of entry unless I come up with different ways to sell my content that come with a higher barrier of entry than Amazon. Perhaps more specialized niches would also have a higher barrier of entry as not everyone would be able to write books in them.

Substantial third-party dependency issue.
You have a huge third-party dependency issue. In short, you don't have full control over your business because you are subservient on a parental, corporate parent. For instance, if you ONLY sell on AMAZON and you're entire business revenue comes from Amazon, this carries a HUGE third-party risk. If the third-party company decides to change something (a policy, a procedure, files bankruptcy, cancels your account) your business will immediately be impacted. Worse, it will go banktrupt in a matter of minutes. While such dependencies can go on infintely with no issue, it poses a HUGE risk that should have you concerned.

The biggest danger in this business and one that is extremely difficult to address. Still, I'm trying to find ways to reduce my dependency on Amazon and this assessment only made me realize how urgent this task is.

Limited to zero repeat use.
A big trouble spot here is that your product is a limited use product. This means that once you find your customer (either through expensive marketing or some other expense initiative) they are unlikely to buy again. Not because your product stinks, but because it just can be used once, like a book, a game, or a calculator. While this isn't the end of your idea, it is a facet that you must deal with by offering more options (For example, more books, more games, etc.) to continually leverage your customer list. Additionally, because your product is just a one-time (or two-time) deal, your marketing efforts will have to continually replace old customers with new ones. Build momentum will be a struggle.

My business addresses this through more books, but this strategy, at least in the genre I am, no longer seems to be working that well.

A recurring type of a product would be great, but to make a quality subscription-based product in this industry would be challenging and probably not that lucrative given how much work it might require. This leaves the idea of finding a new niche where I could not only write books but also potentially sell relevant products that generate recurring income and are an easier sell.

Thanks again for creating this tool, MJ. It really got me thinking about the direction I need to take with my business.
 
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MJ DeMarco

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perceive their own businesses. I got a C- and $500,000

I entered in your business (from what I know) and got a C+.

Average Execution: $1M.

However I think the folks here would agree you are somewhere in between Above Average and Excellent Execution which ranges $5M - $10M.


Thanks again for creating this tool, MJ.
there are some typos in the results which I put in bold):

Thanks for the reminder, I spell-checked the front-facing text, but not the text in PHP code. Should be OK now.
 

MJ DeMarco

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I got D- for my self-publishing business.

Mine didn't fare much better... D+

It's the reality we face, execute excellently or face mediocrity.

 

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I entered in your business (from what I know) and got a C+.

Average Execution: $1M.

However I think the folks here would agree you are somewhere in between Above Average and Excellent Execution which ranges $5M - $10M.

You've put in close to what I put in. I think I put in a bigger scale and need, lower control and entry. I know my product itself isn't "needed", but the other aspects of the business are needed.

The reason I made the post was because I found it intriguing that upscale got a B, and @Scot was an A-. I would definitely argue that my current business has alot more potential than upscale but I struggled with figuring out how to get a B moving around the parameters without being too generous.

Maybe I'm just too pessimistic with my business, or maybe it's because this business is actually been running a while so I look at these parameters different vs. a business idea?

I feel like the upscale parameters that you put in are way to generous when compared to mine. For example, scale for me is 75 and upscale was 65. I'm pretty sure that my market size is way bigger. So it's just a matter of figuring out what the difference of a unit on your 1-10 scale means.

As for Scot's A-, based on my fiddling around with the parameters, a true A- business idea should be making millions in the first year.

This is just my opinion based on the results that I'm seeing here and me messing around with the website.
 
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MJ DeMarco

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I feel like the upscale parameters that you put in are way to generous when compared to mine. For example, scale for me is 75 and upscale was 65. I'm pretty sure that my market size is way bigger. So it's just a matter of figuring out what the difference of a unit on your 1-10 scale means.

definitely argue that my current business has alot more potential than upscale

We agree.

The need for Upscale (IMO) is not clearly defined as is its market. It was based upon best case scenarios that *assumed* people with small bathrooms would want it, AND it was priced appropriately. Variability and unknowns are across the board.

If I rated it based on my perceptions and biases, it would be in the D range. I rated on the owner's assertions.

Your business however, has NO unknowns insofar as market and demand.

a true A- business idea should be making millions in the first year.

That's simply not true because the idea itself is worthless, execution still needs to happen, especially because such a business would score HIGH on entry barriers. In a food business, that DEFINITELY is the case since it is dependent on third-party distribution with gatekeepers.

Maybe I'm just too pessimistic with my business

I don't think you're pessimistic at all, just a better executor than the rest. Heck, my business scored dismally, yet, it was pretty darn accurate. The truth of the matter is, if I wasn't already financially secure, it probably wouldn't be a business I'd be pursuing.
 

Scot

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As for Scot's A-, based on my fiddling around with the parameters, a true A- business idea should be making millions in the first year.

This is just my opinion based on the results that I'm seeing here and me messing around with the website.


Completely agree. And mine would be, if I had the right capital to seed the company from the get go. I actually tried being pretty conservative with some of my ratings. However, things like market size and replication, I had to rate pretty high (10% of the worlds population, food's easy to reproduce, and people use this product daily and have high reorder rates).


But, as Gary V says, "Idea's are Sh*t, execution is everything". For being a total novice to the food industry, I'd say I've done pretty well. But my direct competitor has shown what above average execution looks like because his brand is pretty damn far ahead of mine.
 

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Scot you're thinking "potential market size" whereas biophase is thinking "current market size".

Neither are wrong... but you're going to get pretty different ratings depending on which one you input.
 
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AMAZING !

Thank you MJ !!

 

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@MJ DeMarco THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

I was trying to do this type of grading on an Excel sheet for years with mediocre results.

But now having this tool by the MASTER himself brings a lot of certainty to my business insights.

Thank you again.
 

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