So you have a great business idea… now what?

Let me elaborate: Having a fantastic idea is essential to innovation and for sustainable business success, but that’s only part of what is really needed.

I remember years ago, listening to a talk by the late Myles Monroe where he mentioned that the graveyards are full of unwritten books, unlived dreams, unreached destinies and ideas that never led to any business success. That truly inspired me to take actions in fulfilling my own goals and dreams. In my quest for unlocking unlimited potential for individuals, companies and organizations, I soon realized that it is slightly more complex than just chasing goals, outcomes and the next big business idea.

Let me elaborate: Having a fantastic idea is essential to innovation and for sustainable business success, but that’s only part of what is really needed. Securing all the resources to implement the idea is just as important and potentially more difficult. Often people ask me if their ideas are good ideas. My response is always that it can only be a good idea if you take the correct actions in implementing the idea. Many do however never even go beyond talking about their ideas due to the fear and lack of knowledge about implementation.

In today’s fast changing world, creating a strategy and culture of innovation and creativity is essential not just for big corporates but also for small enterprises and new start-ups to compete in the marketplace. Unfortunately too many entrepreneurs and innovators execute ideas prematurely because they look great on paper, only to learn later that their vision turned out to be a delusion. Many of these start-ups begin with an idea for a product that they think people want. They then spend months, sometimes years, perfecting that product without ever showing the product, even in a very elementary form, to the prospective customer. When they then fail to reach a broad base of customers, it is often because they never spoke to prospective customers and users to determine whether or not the product was interesting, worthwhile or fulfilling a real customer need. When customers then ultimately communicate, via their consumer behaviour that they don’t care about the idea, the start-up fails.

The good news is that strategies to ensure success do exist.  Any potential innovator needs to follow certain guidelines for potential breakthroughs in the space they operate. One such strategy is Design Thinking, a user-centered methodology that brings customers into the problem-solving process. More than just sticky notes, markers and whiteboards, design thinking is about gaining a deep understanding of the people in your target market, their habits, behaviours and motivators; then creating something they want to use. Another popular and successful strategy is the Lean Start-up methodology for developing businesses and products that aim to shorten product development cycles and rapidly discover if a proposed business model is viable. This is achieved by adopting a combination of business-hypothesis-driven experimentation, iterative or repetitive product releases and validated learning. The Lean Start-up methodology provides a scientific approach to get a desired product to customers’ hands faster. According to the initiator of this methodology Eric Ries, a core component of the Lean Start-up methodology is the build-measure-learn feedback loop. The first step is figuring out the problem that needs to be solved and then developing a minimum viable product (MVP) to begin the process of learning as quickly as possible. Once the MVP is established, a start-up can work on fine tuning the product or service for sustainable business success. This will involve measurement and learning and must include actionable metrics that can demonstrate tangible business success.

To learn more about applying these above mentioned tools and processes, contact me on 082 563 1087 for customized solutions for your business, and be a disruptor in the market space you operate in.

1 thought on “So you have a great business idea… now what?

  1. Pragtige sinvolle artikel Bernard die eindste Myles Monroe het ek ontmoet en dit was bg woorde van hom wat my laat besef het dat deursettings vermoë een van die belangrikste eienskappe van n entrepreneur moet wees dankie vir bg artikel n mens se entoesiasme laat n mens baie keer by die feite in jou artikel verby kyk.

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