I go through a process called "Will the Dog Eat the Dog Food." It was taught to me by my entrepreneurial mentors. After you have the idea and thought out the

I go through a process called "Will the Dog Eat the Dog Food." It was taught to me by my entrepreneurial mentors. After you have the idea and thought out the product some, you test whether the market will respond to it. I start with a few key friends and my two entrepreneurial mentors. If it passes them, then I go a wider test. I determine potential target markets and I survey them or I literally pull out the phone book and I call strangers. I even stood at a mall once with a candy bowl and talked with people about my idea. If you don't talk to customers, you won't ever know what the customers want.