A feasibility study example is a demonstration of reasoning, not a template answer. The value is in seeing how a question is narrowed, what evidence is gathered, and how a recommendation is stated with its conditions attached.
The four examples below are fictional. They are not client work, they are not benchmarks, and the businesses do not exist. They are here to show structure across different sectors.
How to read these examples
Each outline follows the same seven sections described in the feasibility study template:
- Executive summary and recommendation
- Concept and scope
- Market assessment
- Technical and operational assessment
- Financial assessment
- Risk and conditions
- Recommendation
Notice that none of them ends with "the market is large, therefore proceed". Each ends with a decision and, where relevant, the conditions that make the decision valid.
Example 1: a coffee kiosk in a business park
The question: should the founder take a three-year lease on a small kiosk inside a business park, or wait for a better location?
What the study tested: weekday footfall during working hours, the price point the park's tenants already pay for coffee, the fit-out required for a kiosk format, and whether one staff member could cover the trading window.
What the evidence showed: the competitor set inside the park was thin, but the footfall was concentrated in two short periods. A kiosk with limited seating would depend on takeaway volume, and the rent proposed by the landlord consumed a large share of the contribution from an average day.
What the numbers had to show: the kiosk needed a minimum number of weekday transactions to cover rent, staff and stock before any owner drawing. The study tested that threshold against a conservative and a base footfall assumption.
Recommendation: proceed with conditions. The venture works if the rent is negotiated below a stated ceiling and if the fit-out is phased so that the second phase is only committed after eight weeks of trading data. Without those conditions, do not proceed.
What it demonstrates: a positive recommendation can still be conditional. The conditions are the useful output, because they tell the founder what to negotiate before signing.
Example 2: a last-mile delivery depot
The question: should a founder commit to a depot lease and a small fleet on the strength of one prospective contract?
What the study tested: the density of deliveries in the catchment, the utilisation required to cover fleet and driver costs, the contract terms available in the market, and the working capital needed before invoices are paid.
What the evidence showed: the catchment could support a depot, but the economics depended almost entirely on contract volume. A single contract left the operation exposed to a price renegotiation at renewal, and the proposed lease was longer than the contract.
What the numbers had to show: the depot needed a minimum number of drops per route day, at a stated revenue per drop, to cover fixed costs. The study modelled the effect of losing the anchor contract at the end of year one.
Recommendation: do not proceed at the assumed contract volume. Retest if two contracts are signed, or if the lease can be shortened to match the contract term.
What it demonstrates: the most useful recommendation can be a refusal. It saved the founder from signing a lease that outlasted the revenue behind it.
Example 3: a dental clinic
The question: should a dentist open an independent clinic in a residential district, or join an existing practice as a partner?
What the study tested: the licensing and fit-out path, the equipment list, the staffing model, the payer mix and the time required to reach a viable patient base.
What the evidence showed: the district had enough households to support a clinic, but the fit-out and equipment requirement was front-loaded, and the clinic would need a period of trading before patient numbers reached the level assumed in the founder's plan. Licensing and inspection timelines were the largest source of uncertainty.
What the numbers had to show: the clinic needed to cover fixed costs — rent, staff, equipment finance and utilities — at a realistic appointment volume, with a ramp that reflected how patients choose a new clinic.
Recommendation: proceed with conditions. The clinic is viable if the fit-out is financed separately from working capital, if the equipment lease is agreed before the lease is signed, and if the founder has enough cash to cover a slower ramp.
What it demonstrates: the funding structure can be as important as the market. A viable business with the wrong financing plan can still fail.
Example 4: an online retail brand
The question: should a founder move from marketplace selling to a standalone online store?
What the study tested: the cost of acquiring a customer directly, the repeat purchase rate needed to recover that cost, the working capital tied up in stock, and the operational load of handling returns.
What the evidence showed: the marketplace had produced sales but little customer data. Moving to a standalone store would shift acquisition cost onto the founder, and the margin at the planned price did not obviously support it. The repeat purchase assumption was the weakest part of the case.
What the numbers had to show: the store needed a contribution per order that covered acquisition cost within the first purchase, or a repeat rate that recovered it over a stated period. The study tested both.
Recommendation: proceed in a limited way. Keep the marketplace channel, launch the standalone store with a narrow product range, and set a review point after a defined number of orders. Do not commit to a large stock position before the acquisition cost is known.
What it demonstrates: a feasibility study does not have to produce a yes or no. A staged decision with a review trigger is often the most useful answer.
What the four examples have in common
| Pattern | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| A single, narrow question | A study that tests everything tests nothing |
| Evidence graded by source | Quoted facts and estimates are treated differently |
| A financial threshold, not a feeling | The decision is tied to a number the business must reach |
| Conditions attached to a positive answer | The founder knows what to negotiate before committing |
| A clear recommendation | Proceed, proceed with conditions, or do not proceed |
None of them uses a top-down market size to justify the decision. A large market says nothing about whether a particular site, format and cost base can work.
What these examples do not show
- Real numbers. They are deliberately qualitative. Invented figures would look like benchmarks and be copied.
- Primary research. Real studies may include site visits, interviews or surveys, depending on scope.
- A full financial model. A real study includes an editable model, not a table in a document.
- Regulatory detail. Licensing and permitting must be verified against the relevant authority's current published guidance; the examples only flag where that matters.
Turning an outline into your own study
- Write the decision the study has to support.
- Choose the narrowest scope that answers it.
- Build the evidence table before the prose.
- Model the threshold the business must reach.
- State the recommendation with its conditions.
If you want the section-by-section structure, the feasibility study template sets it out. If you would rather commission the study, the feasibility study service explains what is included, and what drives the cost explains how a quote is built.