What is a Traditional Feasibility Study?
A traditional feasibility study is a research report that provides an objective review of local market conditions, analyzes the practicality of a business proposal, and allows business owners to make better informed decisions when considering funding new business venture(s). A feasibility study is an exercise in probability that allows decision makers to weigh risk, cost, and potential benefits.
The feasibility study is nothing new in the business world. When business leaders or entrepreneurs are faced with a decision that requires a significant investment, taking on a large amount of debt, are justifying a start-up or expansion, or that may require a significant time commitment – the natural step for many business leaders is to order a feasibility study.
Traditional feasibility studies, just like any other research project or study, are incapable of predicting the future, and primarily used as an evaluation tool to allow decision makers to make better decisions. If a business plan is the “road map” for a company, the traditional feasibility study is like your car’s gas gauge. A quick glance tells you if you have enough gas to reach your destination. Taking this analogy one step further will explain what makes the enhanced feasibility study so valuable.
If the traditional study is your gas gauge, the enhanced feasibility study is your GPS. Your GPS provides you with the fastest route, shortest route, or a custom route based on the settings you input. It also actively warns you about changing road conditions, traffic, and may recommend alternative routes on the fly. Most importantly, it shows you the exact mileage and can immediately tell you if you have enough fuel to reach your destination.
What is the Enhanced Feasibility Study?
First, the ‘enhanced’ feasibility study is the term we use to describe a traditional feasibility study that’s been modified to provide a more accurate, comprehensive, and detailed analysis of a prospective venture. Over the last few years, we’ve developed and redefined the traditional feasibility study due to various shortcomings we discovered during the research process. The lack of innovative data mining techniques, minimal leverage of technology, and even the criteria used to justify project recommendations were all short-sighted and woefully outdated.
Rather than provide our clients with an antiquated, inadequate product, we set to task to improve the traditional feasibility study in every way imaginable. Continuous improvements were made on everything from the methods we use to research and collect data – to providing 30+ weighted and scored criteria that allow us to directly compare multiple markets. We’re pleased to say that while no study can offer 100% assurance about a venture’s success, over the last 2 years we have yet to see a single study miss the mark – and we’ve completed studies on dozens of markets around the country.
What Makes the Enhanced Feasibility Study So Accurate?
If we aren’t working towards our client’s ultimate success, we aren’t doing our job. That’s why our feasibility studies go well beyond determining the practicality of a project. In addition to the benefits provided by a traditional feasibility study, the enhanced version of the study offers entrepreneurs, investors, and financial institutions the following benefits :
- In-depth, real-time analysis of local market economic conditions and competing companies.
- See how your local market stacks up – compare your study’s results with the results of dozens of other studies on markets around the country.
- Identify market entry opportunities, ‘low hanging fruit’ (easy sales), and potential pitfalls.
- Analyzes the adequacy of current market supply.
- Determines the ability of established companies to meet current consumer demand levels.
- Gauges consumer sentiment, trends, and relevant purchasing patterns.
- Collect data on local market pricing to establish competitive prices and forecast ballpark financials.
- Provide 3 fundraising options to entrepreneurs:
- Investor sourcing and brokerage
- Crowdfunding
- Certified 3rd Party Traditional and SBA Lenders
Owner Informed – Investor Intrigued – Underwriter Approved
Whether you are considering opening a brewpub or brewery, a feasibility study from BreweryBusinessPlan.com (BBP) is a wise investment. Historically, opening a brewery was considered one of the safest business start-ups for entrepreneurs. With more than 6,000 breweries now open across the United States and hundreds more breweries in planning, it’s only logical to ask how long the industry’s exponential growth can continue.
In the past, you could throw a dart at a map of the United States, setup a brewery in ‘Dartville, USA’, and be successful. While there is still an abundance of opportunities in markets throughout the country, the process of starting a brewery has become much more selective and calculated than it was 5 years ago. That’s where the enhanced feasibility study from BBP comes in.
Battle hardened and market tested, the feasibility studies created by BBP provide consumer, trend, and market analysis so reliable, family offices, venture capital, and private equity firms have used our studies to substantiate backing certain brewers. We also work with various financial lenders via our certified vendor network that can provide commercial loan pre-approval letters to brewing entrepreneurs based on a study that has rendered a positive outcome.
In addition to the Certified Vendor Network, we also offer angel brokering services. If you’re considering outside investors, there are a number of angel investors, family offices, venture capital firms, private equity firms, and other investment companies already interested in your company. Positive results from a feasibility study can generate a lot of interest from prospective investors. The angel brokering services we offer can source investors, present opportunities to investors, and decipher term sheets. Best of all, our retainer fee is fully refundable and can be built into the investment amount you are seeking – meaning, if we bring you an investo.
The Enhanced FREE-sibility Study?
With the numerous improvements we’ve made to the feasibility study over the last few years, perhaps none have been as helpful to our clients as the networking features. With dozens of business plans and studies we’ve created over the years, we’ve formed a number of outstanding relationships with craft industry vendors. As we work with clients during the time period when key purchasing decisions are soon to occur, clients can decide to work with a vendor that is a member of our Certified Vendor Network. In return for introducing network members to our clients, members offer referral fees to BBP which BBP then shares with our clients.
For both the client and the vendor participation is entirely voluntary; however, by partnering with a network member our clients have the opportunity to earn significant cash back rewards. For instance, partnering with one of our approved lenders and equipment providers would earn our client $1500 in rebates. The Certified Vendor Network not only allows you to earn cash back rebates up to the full cost of your study, it also saves time and effort by consolidating the quoting process. What used to take hours (if not days) to research, communicate, compare, and select from various providers can now be accomplished in just a few minutes!