As a small business consultant, I am often approached by people who have an idea for a business and want my ideas on if it’s a good idea or not. I find that I give those people the identical advice almost no matter what their thought is or who they are. The questions you should be asking yourself is how are you going to make your business successful and are you the individual to perform it?
So, let’s break down that piece of information into its component parts. There are three: Your idea, your plan, and you. In a world apparently busting at the seams with both positive and negative thoughts, how does your rate? Many first time entrepreneurs believe that locating the ideal idea is much like a quest for the Holy Grail. My favorite example of this comes from the film”Office Space” in which the notion of the Pet Rock is discussed, “Sure it was [a fantastic idea].
The guy made a million bucks.” Funny, perhaps, but probably not far from the truth. Gary Dahl, the inventor of Pet Rocks, did earn money selling Pet Rocks and even sold the rights to Pet Rocks as recently as 2009. Arguably an awful idea, Pet Rocks really had a good deal of quirky charm as the marketing around them was filled with puns and play on words. And, it was this, not the selling of stones at unbelievable markups, which netted Dahl his gains. The point is, thoughts, in and of themselves, rarely have much value one way or another.
It’s almost impossible to say one is great while another is poor. Most of us have that friend who cries from their sofa at commercials that the item is dumb, or that they thought of it years ago. What’s the difference between these and the individual who’s making all that money selling these products and/or solutions? So, when contemplating a business idea, just ask yourself if you’re a sensible and intelligent person who’s capable of finding a solid business idea.
If the answer is”yes” then you’ve got what might be a successful business idea, no matter if it’s a good or bad one. The plan is a funny word in the context of business since it basically gets boiled down to using a sound strategy. A good deal of meaningless terms get used and misused in the area of business strategy. My personal favorite example is”first-mover advantage” In fact,” the first-mover advantage” is often the”first-mover disadvantage” as you will hit every roadblock along the way and many others get to Do not let small truisms and phrases function as building blocks of your strategy.
Ask yourself, now you have an idea, how are you going to actually make it a business? The most common misconception here is that plans which you’ve seen deployed at a current business is going to have any bearing on your new business idea. There’s a massive difference between what is generally called Corporate Strategy (which is what most any business that’s existed for over 2-3 years use) and New Venture Strategy (which is exactly what you and your new business idea is going to need to use to get started).
The new venture strategy you use is paramount to the success of your thought. However, don’t expect most people to understand how to play the new venture strategy game. “Market Acquisition” (admittedly, another overused and frequently misused strategy word) are the most vital part of what you do to make your idea a thriving business.
As a daily one, nobody knows who you are or what you’re doing. How do you intend to change that, in such a dramatic way which you could really make a business out of it? Be certain that you run your ideas by lots of people and gain as much feedback as you possibly can. If you know a successful entrepreneur, certainly get their ideas as they’ll be invaluable. This is also a fantastic time to find out one of the main rules of conducting any business, irrespective of size, which is to make sure you’re not only asking people who affirm whatever you say simply to make you happy.
Critique and optimizing of your strategy are the keys to doing this part correctly. There are plenty of examples of entrepreneurs with apparently great ideas and terrific approaches whose businesses never see the light of day because they just aren’t the ones too Not only about who you are, but who you’re inside the context of your business idea. Are you really the individual that could make this thought a successful business?
Do you know the business or have relevant contacts? Probably most important, have you got enough time, effort, and dedication to actually see this through? 1 thing lots of people get stuck on at this phase is money. I’ve met dozens of individuals who tell me that they have an excellent idea and plan but they would require some quantity of cash, which they inevitably don’t have, This, more frequently than not, is merely a convenient excuse to rationalize wimping out and not following through on what could otherwise be a excellent business.
There are family and friends who may be inclined to support your business idea. Otherwise, you will find angel investors and a good deal of folks who would like to fund exciting and interesting ideas. Want to know what these folks look for, first of all, when you approach them appearing to have them invest? When you’re pitching your idea, they’re analyzing your strategy, and much more carefully, you.
There are a million businesses out there for which the underlying business ideas sound borderline absurd. So, take your thoughts, examine them profoundly, devise winning strategies and then, finally and most of all, examine yourself in the context of these strategies. It’s certainly more effort than simply creating the idea itself. But, it’s also a lot more likely to turn your idea into a business and, more importantly, turn you from just another individual with an interesting idea into a
