GENERAL VIEW
The purpose of the Feasibility Analysis is to make sure that you are on the right track. Who wants to be on the wrong track? Of course no one wants to be on the wrong side in everything in life not to talk of business and or risking your hard earns capital.
There are two basic questions that must be adequately answered in any feasibility analysis. These are:
- Is there sufficient demand for the product or service?
- Can the product or service be provided on a profitable basis?
Please note that a Feasibility Analysis is not a whole study of the anticipated business – but more like a preview of the business plan with the cogent issues discussed.
PURPOSE OF A FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS
Please, remember as you write the feasibility analysis that the whole purpose for the document is to assist you in assessing whether or not to move on with the business concept. If at this stage it looks as if your idea is not feasible – that is okay. Like most entrepreneurs, you have tons of ideas and the nature of the feasibility analysis is to ensure that you embark on the path of tremendous success. The primary purpose, therefore, of any feasibility analyses is to act as filter or screening device to a business. And this should always precede the execution of any ecotourism business.
THE IDEAL LENGTH OF A GOOD FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS
The ideal length of a good feasibility analysis should not be more than five (5) pages in length:
- A brief overview of what the business is about one page.
- Overview of the market for the product or service and the results of the market analysis which could be one to two page(s).
- Competitive advantage of your product or service over the competitor, and the strengths
and weaknesses of your competitors, one page
- Rough pro-format, including the income statement, which should show the expected level of profit over the next five years. This also could be between one to two pages.
STEPS INVOLVED IN A FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS
Depending on the project or business being analyzed, the content of a feasibility study varies. Some studies require less work while some require more bases on the extent of existing planning efforts. For instance, if there are ecotourism facilities that have been built already at the site. In this case, there would be less work unlike when there is no single facility on site.
Some of the most often used steps for feasibility analysis creation are listed below;
- · Preliminary questions
- · Information gathering
- · Definition of goals
- · Resource inventory
- · Market analysis
- · Competitive analysis
- · Business description and operation
- · Sales forecast
- · Financial analysis
- · Viability analysis
OLOWOLE, Femi Peter
