Conclusion: Does research support the venture?
Unfortunately, after countless hours of research, the verdict is still inconclusive. The expert group were about 90 percent united in the likelihood of success but the feedback from the questionnaire left me with many doubts. The results from the questionnaire were, for the most part, predicted by the expert group before it was mailed to the local businesses. Because of the lack of understanding of the importance of marketing and the potential it can unleash in a business, only about 25 percent of the responses were positive. Fifty percent were neutral and 25 percent of the returned questionnaires were negative. When combined with the 7 percent return rate for the questionnaire, it can safely be assumed that there is little interest among the local businesses from my proposed service.
For every new business, there is a leap of faith. Returning to what makes a great entrepreneur great – timing, will, intelligence, luck, perseverance, personality, access to capital, great relations, and so forth – at this moment, I can only account for half of these. The others are either unknown, or so little is know, that the potential reward does not out weigh the potential risk.
For me, opening a marketing agency in Central Newfoundland is not feasible. This statement is considerable as I consider myself to be marketing-obsessed. It is probably because of this that I cannot see myself coping well with the frustration of working in a small market where a few mistakes can severely damage a reputation.
On the bright side, I would consider this venture feasible for someone who is already established within the business community, who already has a good “day job,” and is willing to spend the next 2 to 3 years growing the business.