Launching a small business today requires a dynamic, resilient business concept that meets current needs and anticipates future trends. I’m excited to share a series of practical ChatGPT prompts that will assist any new startup operation in evaluating the underlying business idea, conducting extensive market research, developing initial marketing materials, and providing all the data you will need to draft a comprehensive business plan.
Recently, we covered the fundamentals of effective, prompt engineering for ChatGPT, which begins by explaining the context and providing instructions to ChatGPT. The context provides ChatGPT with information such as who you are, your industry, location, business size, level of technical expertise, technical specifications, or geographical information, and the stakeholders or audiences for whom you want ChatGPT to tailor its responses. We followed that up by providing ChatGPT with instructions, including specifying the reading level, word count, tone, structure, and focus of the replies, and a statement that we want ChatGPT to include source links in its responses so we could verify the data provided.
Now, I’d like to introduce several task-oriented prompts that you can use once the context and instructions are made clear to ChatGPT. If you’re not yet familiar with crafting effective context and instruction prompts, I recommend reading my post, “How to Optimize ChatGPT Responses With Proper Prompt Engineering,” to get started, as the tasks discussed here require a well-defined context and instructions to be effective.
With the context and instructions in place, it’s time to explore some powerful task prompts ChatGPT can perform to help any business get started on the right foot. Traditionally, conducting necessary industry research, collecting financial and employment data, investigating trends, and analyzing competition required hours of Internet research and library visits. This is no longer the case since ChatGPT can carry out in a matter of seconds all the heavy lifting that used to take hours.
While the following prompts can be customized for standalone responses, using them sequentially as presented allows each piece of collected data to enhance the next, enabling ChatGPT to deliver more comprehensive responses. All prompts are shown in italics and can be simply cut and pasted into your chat.
NOTE: Before we dive in, I want to share a personal insight and concern. When it comes to business planning, the journey is as important as the plan itself. One of the first business books I ever read was “The Ultimate Entrepreneur: The Story of Ken Olsen and Digital Equipment Corporation.” One of my key takeaways from the book was that your business plan needs to live in your soul, not just on paper. As a founder, you must familiarize yourself with all aspects of your plan so that every decision is aligned with its broader vision. Using tools like ChatGPT comes with a risk as they might shorten this essential journey, possibly leaving gaps in your deep understanding. ChatGPT can quickly generate a detailed business plan, even in industries you’re unfamiliar with. However, it’s crucial that you invest time and energy to thoroughly review all the sources and refine the final plan to truly internalize its essence. With that caution in mind, let’s begin.
Rethinking the Business Model
Using the first principles method, can you deconstruct my business by questioning all underlying assumptions and then re-evaluate how it operates? Please also suggest innovative approaches to rethink its functionality and strategy.
Identifying Target Market
Please define the ideal customer for my business, including their size, industry, revenue, location, main challenges, and key desires. Additionally, how can I ensure my business effectively addresses their needs?
Business Model Canvas
Please create a business model canvas for my business. Additionally, analyze how this model will respond to various external “Market Forces,” including changing target market demographics, “Key Trends” for either consumers or businesses that use my products or services, “Industry-Specific Forces,” including innovations that will affect my industry, and the impact of “Macroeconomic Forces” such as political and economic policies.
Industry Research and Analysis
Research and compile industry data from the past three years. Your response should include the primary NAICS code and description for my industry, a list of five trade associations with their websites, and details of relevant federal and state-level regulatory requirements. Include information about barriers to entry, the concentration of competitors in my region, and revenue volatility. Identify common challenges and opportunities that businesses in my industry typically encounter using a SWOT analysis. Your response should include a PESTEL analysis and Porter’s Five Forces model based on my industry.
IBIS World is a go-to for top-tier industry research reports, but those reports come with a pretty hefty price tag. Previously, the SBA covered my subscription through an enterprise-level plan, allowing me to provide these reports to my clients for free. However, IBIS World has since increased its enterprise-level subscription fees. While the SBA is reviewing its options, my access has expired, leaving me without the service. While running a bunch of market/industry research queries through ChatGPT, I noticed it was pulling a lot of info from IBIS World! So, since I don’t have my account anymore, I got a little creative and used an old report to whip up some prompts that can help reproduce the juicy data ChatGPT pulls from IBIS World. You can download a PDF of IBIS World prompts here and use them in ChatGPT to generate market and industry research similar to what IBIS World provides.
Financial Metrics and Projections
Please gather and summarize financial data from the last three years for businesses in my industry. Your response should include typical gross profit margins as well as other financial benchmark ratios for businesses similar in size to mine.
Employment and Workforce Data
Please gather and summarize employment data from the last three years for businesses in my industry. Your response should include the average revenue per employee, overall gross profit margins, and wage ranges for employees in my industry. Also, provide insight into the employment outlook for the next few years.
Market Trends and Performance
Please research and compile information about market trends, industry performance, growth outlook, and key industry players based on my size, local saturation levels, prevalent business models, and federal and state regulatory requirements relevant to my industry. Additionally, identify emerging trends over the past three years, including both national and regional developments, and discuss their potential impact on businesses within my industry.
External Influences and Strategic Planning
What demographic and macroeconomic factors influence the industry, and what are the strategic implications?
Perform a detailed direct and indirect supply chain analysis for my industry and provide contingency plan options.
What trends impact industry costs, and what are some mitigation strategies?
Competitive Landscape Analysis
Please research and compile a detailed analysis of the top five competitors in my industry, considering the size and location of my business. Include links to their websites, the city and state where they are located, and list each competitor’s offerings, their revenue, if available, and the number of employees. Compile a detailed analysis of the Google and Yelp reviews for my top five competitors during the past three years and include their average star rating, if available. Provide a detailed comparison of their pricing strategies. Additionally, describe each competitor’s business model and suggest strategies that could give my business a competitive advantage over them.
Competitor Website Evaluation
Please carry out a thorough review of the web pages for each of my five competitors. For each, provide a link to their website and analyze various elements, including the site’s design and usability, call to action, image-to-text ratio, content quality, SEO practices, relevant keywords, and overall user experience.
Startup Financial Planning
Please research and detail the typical startup costs associated with my industry. Ensure your response is specific and includes all relevant financial information.
Setup Initial Chart of Accounts
Develop an initial chart of accounts for my business.
Logo
Please come up with three logo ideas for my business.
Create a logo based on the logo idea number [TBD].
Tagline
Please write five compelling taglines for my business based on the description of the concept and the symbolism of the logo you’ve designed.
Let’s use the tagline number [TBD] from here on out.
Business Plan
Please create a comprehensive and detailed business plan based on all the information above. Do not omit any of the details from above.
Conclusion
As we wrap up this exploration of useful ChatGPT prompts for starting a small business, it’s clear that the power of AI can be harnessed to transform and streamline many aspects of your entrepreneurial journey. From conducting deep market analysis and crafting compelling marketing materials to drafting a business plan, these prompts are designed to provide you with a foundation for informed business planning and decision-making. Remember, the effectiveness of these prompts will depend on how well you define your initial context and instructions. I encourage you to adapt and experiment with these prompts as you continue to grow and evolve your enterprise. With ChatGPT at your side, you’re well-equipped to navigate the complexities of the business world and lead your venture toward success.
How will you use the prompts for your business?