How to Conduct Market Research as a Business Owner

HOW TO CONDUCT MARKET RESEARCH AS A BUSINESS OWNER

Have you ever been so convinced an idea would work that you could barely sleep at night?

I have. Twice, actually.

One of those ideas, I paused before investing thousands of dollars and countless hours. The other? I went all in and watched it completely flop.

Today, I’m pulling back the curtain on both stories and walking you through the exact market research framework that’s now saved me from expensive mistakes and helped me build offers that actually land.

The $100K Idea That Almost Happened

Last year, I attended Craft and Commerce– an incredible event for creators put on by Kit, my email marketing platform of choice. Mighty Networks presented there, and I fully drank the Kool-Aid.

I left that presentation absolutely convinced I’d found my next big thing: a membership community for designers.

I had it all mapped out. I picked the perfect name. I bought the domain. I ran it by my trademark lawyer to make sure I could grow under this name. I was ready to build a space where designers could connect, share resources, and grow their businesses together.

I was running on pure idea adrenaline. I envisioned the launch sequence. I ran the numbers- this was easily a six-figure idea that could scale from there. I was thinking about pricing tiers, the whole nine yards. I even started diving into Mighty Networks’ mini course on setting up a successful community.

But before I took another step, I did something that completely changed the trajectory of this idea.

I reached out to over 10 designers- people whose opinions I trusted, who I thought would make incredible founding members of this community, and who would be brutally honest with me.

I asked them what they thought. I painted the whole picture. What would they want to see for it to be successful? Would they even be excited to join something like this?

The answers I got stopped me dead in my tracks.

The Reality Check

Many of these designers shared that they’d tried other designer communities before, but every single one was filled with gatekeeping and an air of desperation for client work. Those two things don’t go well together.

Those were objections I could work with- that wasn’t the kind of community I wanted to build anyway.

But what really stopped me was this: at the end of the day, all of these incredible colleagues shared that they wouldn’t join a community that only had designers in it.

They wanted to share a common goal with people beyond just an industry niche. They wanted to connect with other creatives- not be boxed into only connecting with designers. By connecting across creative disciplines, they could share different types of work and even potentially share clientele.

That made total sense. I loved the idea.

But I wasn’t ready to build a community for creatives. My fears came up: I didn’t want this to become an old-fashioned Facebook group where people just ask for help and get 50 replies that are links to people’s websites. You know the ones I’m talking about.

I needed to get clear on what common goal these creatives would be sharing, who all these creatives were, and whether they were all creative service providers.

So I paused. The feedback had me stumped. And my plate was getting full with other client work anyway.

I completely stopped that process- which was the right thing to do.

Because I did market research, it was pretty obvious this wasn’t going to land. And that saved me thousands of dollars and months of work.

The Launch That Flopped (Because I Skipped Research)

Now let me tell you the flip side- a story where I was not on top of market research.

A few years back, I had what I thought was a brilliant idea: launch a group coaching program for service providers who wanted to create client generation funnels that weren’t just referrals.

I was really excited because I’d developed specific methods that had nothing to do with referrals, and I knew the transformation I could help people achieve. I was already doing this in my one-to-one coaching program with designers I was mentoring.

But this time, I didn’t do my research.

I was so confident in my idea. I thought, “I’ve had all these one-to-one clients with the same struggles- that’s enough proof.”

But that wasn’t market research. That was just proof of concept and a pain point that one-to-one clients needed addressing.

I also wanted this problem solved for myself, so I assumed everyone else would obviously want it solved too.

So I spent weeks developing the program. I created modules. I recorded videos. I literally built out the whole experience. I invested 40-50 hours of my time, plus money for design and tech stack.

Then I launched with a masterclass.

The masterclass did really well- over 45 people showed up live, with over 200 more on my list who would watch the replay. I was thinking about ratios: if I’d be happy with 10-15 people in the group program, these were good numbers.

People shared it. Everyone on the waitlist watched it.

But when it came to the actual group program sign-ups?

Crickets. Zero people signed up. Literally zero.

Two people signed up for my one-to-one coaching (which is great, but I probably could have predicted that). But it was a complete and total flop.

What Went Wrong

If I had taken the time to do market research and talk to my ideal clients, I would have learned that I wasn’t solving their specific big pain point. They had other fundamental issues they needed to attack first.

Because of how I positioned the whole offer around client generation, I was positioning it to folks who didn’t even have clients yet- rather than positioning it around systems that allow for client generation when you’ve only gotten clients through referrals.

My whole structure was to get people out of a referral cycle, a feast-and-famine cycle. But I didn’t position it well to that pain point or ask people the right questions to validate it.

That flop taught me that no matter how confident I am in the idea and the things I’m teaching, I need to validate it before I invest significant time and money.

Why Building in Public Changes Everything

This brings me to something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately- and something that’s been discussed at conferences like Craft and Commerce this year: the concept of building in public.

Sharing your process, your wins, your failures, your pivots. Bringing people along with you.

Because that myth of “build it and they will come”? Absolutely not true.

I used to think I had to have an idea fully formed before I could talk about it publicly. Otherwise, it would look unprofessional or unprepared.

But that’s not true.

What I’ve learned is that building in public makes you a better entrepreneur. It allows you to:

Share your ideation process transparently
Gather market research in real time
Admit to pivoting without shame
Bring your people with you in a way that actually serves them

The people who follow you and are interested in what you’re building become part of the research process. They tell you what resonates, what doesn’t, and what they’re excited about.

There’s so much trust building in this transparency. When people see that you’re thoughtful about your decisions, that you’re willing to change course and take in new information- you’re building credibility. You’re not just throwing spaghetti at the wall. You’re documenting a path forward, building your authority.

Key Market Research Framework

Let me walk you through what this actually looks like. Here’s the framework I now use for every new idea:

Stage 1: The Idea Strikes

It’s 2 a.m. or a shower thought. You’re scribbling notes in your phone. Maybe you went to a really compelling presentation like I did.

You’re not doing research yet. You’re just purely imagining. Letting yourself dream.

This is a super important part of being an entrepreneur.

Stage 2: The Internal Gut Check

Check with your gut, but also share it with a few trusted team members or business friends.

This helps surface operational questions: What will it take to actually build this? Do you have the bandwidth, the skills, the resources?

You don’t have to have all the answers yet- but these are important questions to approach.

Stage 3: Initial Market Research

This is where you start looking at what already exists, what’s missing in the market, and who’s actually buying similar things.

What I use:

Google Trends
Reddit threads (seriously- Reddit is where everything starts)
Customer reviews
Your own audience feedback

Your goal is to understand the landscape and get a sense of demand.

Stage 4: Talk to Real People

This is the stage where I was at with my membership idea.

Ask your ideal customers: Would you buy this? What would make it worth it for you?

You can do polls or short surveys, but I’ve found actual interviews, DMs, or voice notes give you the real, honest insights.

Listen way more than you pitch. You’re not pitching- you’re gathering information.

This is where I went completely wrong with my group program. I should have done this.

Stage 5: Test the Concept

If you’re getting positive signals, create a low-lift way to validate:

A landing page with a waitlist
A beta offer
Track clicks, signups, and objections

Use this data for pricing, positioning- and to pivot completely if you need to.

Stage 6: Go Deeper

If stage 5 goes well, dive into comprehensive market research:

Build out the brand strategy around the offer
Understand psychographics
Segment analysis- do different groups need different journeys?

You’re not guessing anymore. You’re optimizing.

Stage 7: Keep Researching

You’ve launched and it’s gone well. Now watch how things go.

Revisit (even quarterly). The best brands never stop asking questions.

If it’s a program with an ending time, gather exit survey data. See how you can shift the experience and transformation for the next round.

The Questions That Actually Matter

When you’re in stages 3 and 4, you need questions that go deeper than “Would you buy this?”

Here are some of my favorites:

To Understand the Problem:

What’s the hardest part about doing X or dealing with Y?
What have you tried before and how did it work (or not work)?
How does this problem affect your day-to-day or your bottom line?

To Reveal Desires and Emotions:

What would solving this let you do, feel, or become?
If you could wave a magic wand and fix one thing, what would it be?
What does success actually look like (or feel like) to you here?

To Understand Purchase Behavior:

Have you ever paid for something like this before? Why or why not?
What would make this feel worth it to you?
What would make you hit buy immediately- no hesitation?

You Don’t Need a Giant Audience

You do not need a giant audience or a polished survey to do this research.

Anytime you’re launching something new, ask the humans who you’d want as customers.

Send a voice memo. Send a DM. Be a human, not a form.

You can ask three to five people. You can ask 10-20 people, depending on your audience size.

I’d even argue the smaller your audience, the more important it is to do market research- because those are your people who are engaged and answering you.

What’s Next for Me

My membership idea isn’t dead, by the way. It’s just evolving.

Whatever I do next, I’m going to take the time to really understand my audience’s needs again when I’m ready to tackle that.

If you’re sitting on an idea right now- or maybe you have some floating around- don’t skip the research phase.

Don’t make the mistake I made.

Talk to people. Ask really good questions. Listen to the answers, even when they’re not what you want to hear.

Because curious minds build better brands.

Market research isn’t just about validating ideas. It’s about building something that serves your people, something that solves real problems, and that people are willing to pay to have solved.

Your Next Move

If this resonated with you, I’d love to hear about it. Send me a DM or email me with your own market research stories- what red flags have you caught early? What ideas did you save yourself from?And if you’re not on my list yet, The Works is where I break down strategies and real behind-the-scenes like this.