One of the hardest things in starting a new business is finding customers who you can serve with your product or service.

In a local shopping centre, in a specific corner of the shopping centre, I have seen several businesses being started and then closing their doors in less than a year.

One of the first businesses I can recall being in the shopping centre was a florist. Next was a flooring small business which quickly closed down. This was followed by a household crockery businesses, which after a few months closed down as well.

At the moment, the same shop stands empty.

All these small businesses people had ideas for a business but after opening up they discovered that there weren’t enough customers to support their business.

It takes a lot of pre-research and almost forensics market research to find out whether there are customers available who would support the business.

But often this market research is not enough because even if you research a local or online market, it’s no guarantee that you will attract customers.

Sometimes a business won’t work in a specific location and then it would be better to take it online. For example, there is an online store which deals in writing instruments, specialised inks and papers. Right from the start, this business went online. The owners realised that they couldn’t open it in one specific geographic location because it would not provide sufficient customers.

No matter how good you think your business idea is, it pays to focus more on the market research to determine customer demand. Do your homework as thoroughly as you can whether you have in mind a physical store or an online business.