Small Business Ideas: Screen Demand, Costs and Capacity

MyBreakEven | Published 5 November 2026 | Original fictional USD case

Edit the yellow fields, then print or save a completed copy. This file does not automatically calculate, store or submit answers.

Completed reference case
Criterion	Idea A	Idea B	Evidence / next action
Customer and problem	Cleaning household	Catalog seller	Interview actual buyers
Pilot contribution	125	360	Price less defined delivery costs
Owner-hours	4	12	Include travel/admin/revisions
Contribution per hour	31.25	30	Before fixed costs and tax
Startup purchases	600	1800	Obtain actual quotes
Stop rule	Define before test	Define before test	Record spending and deadline

Your case

Business / period / evidence source / reviewer / decision / next review date

Blank decision record
Criterion	Idea A	Idea B	Evidence / next action
Customer and problem	Enter here	Enter here	Enter here
Pilot contribution	Enter here	Enter here	Enter here
Owner-hours	Enter here	Enter here	Enter here
Contribution per hour	Enter here	Enter here	Enter here
Startup purchases	Enter here	Enter here	Enter here
Stop rule	Enter here	Enter here	Enter here

Calculation and decision controls

Compare models by what must be true

Six starting points to investigate, not earnings recommendations
Model	Customer problem	Main constraint	First evidence to collect
Recurring home cleaning	Reliable scheduled cleaning	Travel, crew time and rework	Local paid trial and repeat booking
Bookkeeping support	Timely organized business records	Competence, access and scope	Owner interviews and defined pilot
Product photography	Usable catalog images	Editing time and revisions	Paid sample with acceptance criteria
Plant-care visits	Maintained office plants	Route density and replacement costs	Nearby-site trial and travel log
Made-to-order alterations	Clothing fit or repair	Skilled production hours	Paid job with measured completion time
Specialty resale	Hard-to-find selected products	Inventory, returns and cash cycle	Small-batch sell-through and net receipts

These models have different operating burdens. A home service can avoid inventory while still needing transport, insurance and practical schedule capacity. A digital service can avoid a storefront while creating customer-acquisition, software and revision costs. A product business can show sales growth while cash remains tied up in unsold stock.

Use disqualifying constraints before scoring enthusiasm

Write your available cash, weekly hours, required personal income, relevant skills, geographic reach and unacceptable commitments. Exclude ideas that cannot meet those constraints under a plausible downside case. For regulated or sensitive work, verify the actual professional, insurance and local requirements before accepting customers. A broad idea list cannot establish permission to practice.

Then compare demand evidence, contribution per constrained hour, startup commitments, time to collection and repeatability. Keep unknowns visible instead of assigning a precise score to an unsupported guess. A signed paid pilot is stronger evidence than compliments from friends, but a single pilot still does not prove recurring demand.