I can’t decide whether or not to launch my new product. Help!

Dear Aunty B,

We have been working on a new product for our business and I can’t press the go button. We know there is demand, we have a prototype of the product ready to go, we know the hole in the marketplace it would fill and we have the skills and technical knowhow to do it. But something is holding me back. I know the environment is uncertain but it’s not that.

I am an experienced entrepreneur that has been around the block several times. I am not usually so indecisive! And I can’t imagine you ever sitting on the fence.

Stuck!
Vic

Dear Stuck,

There is good stuck and bad stuck. Bad stuck is when you don’t have the guts to make a decision. But I don’t think that’s your problem. I think you are suffering from good stuck syndrome. You are not losing your nerve. You simply don’t have enough information to make an informed decision. If I were you, I would sit down with the revenue model and work out what you don’t know. How do you do that? Well, run through your plan and where you are unsure, start to ask a heap of questions.

For instance, you might come to the part of your plan that talks about customers. Do you know everything there is to know about your potential customers? Can you list them by name? Can you group them? Who would you call to set up a meeting? What are their budgets? How do they buy now? How are their purchasing patterns changing? Are they affected by the GFC? Are their customers affected by the GFC?

I often find when I am in a situation like yours that I need another level of research to make up my mind.

Good luck!
Your Aunty B

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