Teenage kicks: Do you really know what your customers want?

I've been at Music 4.5 today, an event in London focusing on start-up businesses in the music industry. One of most interesting sessions took place earlier this afternoon when a group of brave entrepreneurs took to the stage to present their businesses. Nothing new I here you say. But this group of 'investors' weren't Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden or Duncan Bannatyne; they were a bunch of teenagers!

Organised by entrepreneur Julia Shalet, the five 16-18 year olds are part of the Digital Youth Project, an initiative which connects young people with technology businesses.

I've seen a few pitching sessions in my time and most of the entrepreneurs taking part have been pretty nervous but this lot looked particularly scared as they presented their online music ventures to a group made up of their exact target market.

And the kids weren't backwards in coming forward. One particularly confident chap quipped: "But I have a BlackBerry" as the entrepreneur behind RjDj, an iPhone application which transforms ambient noise into music, presented his business. The same youngster was also brutally honest about the fact that CitySounds.fm, another pitching business, saying it just wasn't for him.

It was a thoroughly unusual but enjoyable session and it got me thinking about how many entrepreneurs really understand their target audience?

It's one of the most vital ingredients in growing a successful business but many company owners get too caught up in their grand idea and fail to do proper research to work out whether there really is a need for what they're offering.

So forget what your mum, brother or best friend thinks - they'll think whatever you do is great - and seek out a representative sample of those you think will want to buy your product or service. You may well be surprised at their reaction.