Why Fit Matters:  A Home Based Business Startup Idea Evaluation Example

My husband and actually heard of owning a bounce house from one of our neighbors.

He was excitedly talking about starting one himself, and he told us of how easy it was going to be, and how the market was just right for it.

So, our home based business fit analysis discussions begin. As we peeled back the analysis of the various realities of running a bounce house business.

We soon began to realize that though this type of business would work great for our neighbor, we simply were not interested as it did not fit our needs, our lifestyle, or our business startup tolerance level

This Idea As A Home Based Business Startup Idea For Me - Strike 1 - A Weekend Business

One of the first discussion points we came to was the reality that a bounce house business is primarily a weekend business.

We estimated that over 85% of our business would come from the weekend. You see, we lived on a military base at the time, and we knew that most of the families around us used their bounce house service on the weekend.

This was one 'fit-reality' that really didn't 'fit' too well with us as it would mean that we would spend much of our weekend family time on our business, thus causing us to have to give up the weekend time we spent with friends and family.

So, strike one - this weekend reality didn't really meet our needs..

This Idea As A Home Based Business Startup Idea For Me - Strike 2 - Storage

Having a bounce house business would also mean that we would need a place to store, maintain and keep clean all of those bounce house materials.

At the time we researched this business, we didn't have the space - nor did we want to rent space - to house all of the equipment needed to successfully run this business.

This Idea As A Home Based Business Startup Idea For Me - Strike 3 - Liability

The more we researched having a bounce house business, the more we began to read about the liability and insurance requirements to maintain such a business.

For us, this translated into a lot of drudgery and headache - we simply weren't comfortable with assuming all of the risk and liability involved with ensuring that no one got hurt.

Also, the thought of the potential lawsuit that would ensue if Little Timmy got hurt, made us think twice about whether or not we wanted to assume that level of risk in a home based business startup idea.

This Idea As A Home Based Business Startup Idea For Me - Strike 4 - Hauling/Set-Up Requirements

We also thought through the reality of having to haul/set-up the bounce houses for parties.

First, of all we would need to invest in some type of truck/trailer to haul all of the equipment from place to place.

We would also need to be prepared to work with different soil/concrete conditions to ensure that we securely anchored the bounce-house equipment all the time...every time.

So, yep. That was definitely a strike for us.

This Idea As A Home Based Business Startup Idea For Me - Strike 5 - Indoor Competition

We thought of the bounce house business years ago before we had the proliferation of indoor bounce houses.

The more we researched the feasibility of running a bounce house business, the more we began to run into the indoor bounce-house industry.

We quickly realized that we would have to compete with these indoor features who wouldn't have to face having to tear down and set-up their equipment weekend after weekend.

This Idea As A Home Based Business Startup Idea For Me - Strike 6 - Seasonality

Our research also indicated that the type of bounce house business that we were looking into starting, was a seasonal business.

Where we were located at the time was known for having really hot, hot, summers, and really cold winters.

Dealing with the weather conditions around our neck of the woods meant that there would be months of no business.

Where we lived, there wasn't a lot of bounce-house rental activity during the cold winters or the hot-hot summers.

Our Bounce-House Home Based Business Startup Idea Fit Assessment - The Bottomline

After doing our research on starting a business from home, we soon realized that the bounce house just wasn't a feasible fit for us.

We weren't really willing to do what it takes to get that type of business off the ground, so we passed on it.

Myth 1. I Want To Pursue A Home Based Business Start Up Because It Is Easy.

One of the biggest myths that will cause a home-based business startup idea to fail is to assume that just because you run your business from home, that it does not require a lot of work.

This couldn't be further from the truth.

Starting a new business from the ground up - whether in your home or in outside your home - requires that you walk into your new business with a solid understanding of how to proactively design your business up front.

Myth 2. I Want To Pursue A Home Based Business Start Up Because It Won't Require Too Much Of My Energy

A home-based start-up business is a business just like any other, thus, to make it work, you've got to work it like a business, just like any other.

Thus, when you step into the role of the entrepreneur of a home-based business, you will need to strategically assess how you will design your home business idea so that it is designed to deliver a core product or service to a targeted group of customers who are willing to consistently pay their hard earned money for what you offer.

When searching fro a home based business startup idea, it helps for you to zoom in on those small business ideas that will:

• Give you the flexibility you desire,
• Fit into the context of your reality, and
• Be designed in such a way that you can consistently deliver a product/service that will bring your the desired amount of customers so that you can consistently earn you the level of income that you desire.