Your Venturekit business plan already includes a viability analysis, providing a tailored graphic and percentage breakdown specific to your business, along with a market analysis, competitive advantage, location benefits, challenges, and key considerations. But, if you'd like to explore the factors that determine just how viable—or feasible—your business idea truly is, this article is for you!
What is a Feasibility Study and how is it different than a Business Plan?
A feasibility study determines if a business idea is viable before significant resources are committed, while a business plan outlines how a business will operate and achieve its goals.
Essentially, a feasibility study answers "can we do this?" while a business plan answers "how will we do this?
Another easy way to differentiate between a feasibility study and a business plan is to consider the intended audience.
If your audience is internal (you, your team, or company leadership) a feasibility study will help you lay down the ground work necessary to decide if your idea is worth pursuing.
If your audience is external (investors, banks, partners, or grant providers), you have reached the stage where you will need a full business plan.
When should put together a feasibility study? Is it always necessary?
A feasibility study should be conducted after pitching the project but before any work begins. This analysis is a key component of the project planning process and is often performed alongside a SWOT analysis, depending on the project’s scope.
However, a feasibility study may not be necessary if:
Competitors are already succeeding with a similar business model.
The project is small, simple, and has limited long-term impact on the business.
You have prior experience launching comparable ventures.
What are the components of a Feasibility Study?
Market Analysis
Demand assessment (target audience, market size)
Industry trends and growth potential
Customer needs and preferences
Technical Feasibility
Required technology, equipment, or infrastructure
Production capacity and processes
IT systems and technical resources
Financial Feasibility
Startup costs and funding requirements
Revenue projections and profitability analysis
Break-even analysis and ROI (Return on Investment)
Operational Feasibility
Supply chain and logistics
Staffing and management needs
Day-to-day operational workflow
Legal & Regulatory Compliance
Permits, licenses, and zoning laws
Industry-specific regulations
Intellectual property considerations
Risk Assessment
Potential obstacles and challenges
Mitigation strategies
Competitive threats
Schedule & Timeline
Project milestones and deadlines
Estimated time to launch
Dependencies and critical path
SWOT Analysis
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
If you’ve already created a business plan with VentureKit, you’ll recognize that many of the key components of a feasibility study—such as market analysis, financial projections, and risk assessment—are already integrated into your plan. This overlap means that in some cases, a separate feasibility study may not be necessary.
How to use the AI Consultant feature to help you create a more concise feasibility study.
The built in AI Consultant feature is the perfect tool to help you really hone in on the essential parts of your business idea and create a clear and concise feasibility study.
To do so, start by making sure that you have selected the plan you wish to work from, in your plan list menu, located at the top left corner of your dashboard. If you have multiple plans, the AI Consultant will provide information based on the plan that is currently selected.
Next, enter in the following prompt: "Draft a feasibility study based on my business plan."
The AI Consultant will generate an outline of all the essential components for your feasibility study.
Next, you can ask the AI Consultant to provide more specific examples for any section or topic by entering in a prompt that clearly outlines your request. For example: "Expand on point 3.3 (Competition) and provide specific examples for my geographic area."
or
"Expand on all the points you listed above and provide specific examples for my business niche and geographic location."
If you would like to learn more, check out this article on how to work with the AI Consultant.