Copying something else is unlikely to be very fulfi lling, unless of course that is a deliberate business strategy. More likely, you will have a view on how a product or service can be made or delivered in a better way, or in a manner that is specifi c to you. This needs to be looked at carefully before diving in. Clear the decks, create some proper thinking time, take a deep breath, and begin.
IGNORE EVERYONE ELSE, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?
People start businesses for hundreds of reasons. In the UK at any given time, about 4.5 million people are at it, out of a total labour market of about 30 million, so over one in six people don ’ t need a corporation to earn a living.
Work can be a frustrating business and self - employment represents an alternative to enduring someone else ’ s way of doing things. The original motiva-tion doesn ’ t matter that much. What matters very much is the manner in which you set about designing and enacting the business you wish to start .
The starting point is what you want to do. As far possible, this should be a pure thought, unencumbered by too many outside infl uences. So, your business is less likely to be a success if you start it for overly negative reasons that don ’ t truly refl ect your character.
It ’ s okay to be spurred on by events, but it ’ s not okay to jump into something without proper thought. So that means you need to ignore everyone else and work out what you want to do.
The old advice from a mother to her daughter was to identify what you enjoy doing and then fi nd someone to pay you to do it. This should be the basis on which you decide what type of business you wish to start . Once you have the essence of this, of course you will solicit opinion from others to sense check your thinking. But start on your own, and ask yourself what you really enjoy doing,
and how you can make a living from that. If this doesn ’ t come naturally, try looking to your hobbies and passions, considering how they can be turned into a viable business idea , and defi ning who would pay for your knowledge or skill in that area.
and how you can make a living from that. If this doesn ’ t come naturally, try looking to your hobbies and passions, considering how they can be turned into a viable business idea , and defi ning who would pay for your knowledge or skill in that area.
If you can generate an idea from this simple central thought, it will stand you in great stead later on. There are many reasons for this, but the most important are that it is easier to be a success when you enjoy what you do and it is less arduous working through tricky times when you instinctively like the subject matter that earns you a living.
WHAT PRECISELY IS THE IDEA ?
The original idea needs very careful scrutiny. Few are brilliant immediately. Ideas are nothing if they cannot be enacted effectively, so clarity of thought at the outset is absolutely vital. As Einstein once said, if you can ’ t explain something to your grandmother, then you probably don ’ t understand it properly yourself.
Something may be clear in your head, but what happens thereafter? Like Chinese whispers, everything can become distorted. The journey from your head to the wider world is a strange one. You need to have a vision of what your business could be, work out what you want to do, and fi nd a way of explaining it clearly. Imagine you are going public and consider how you intend to let everyone else know.
Pitching on a postcard is a good idea . If you can ’ t explain in one sentence what the business will do (the ‘ elevator pitch ’ ), then it ’ s probably too complicated. Keep it simple. Don ’ t let business speak affect your clear state-ment of the proposition . Some businesses are easy to describe, others not. If it ’ s a well - known concept, then you may simply be saying ‘ It ’ s a coffee shop ’ . No further explanation is needed, but it doesn ’ t prove that it will be a success until we examine other factors, which we ’ ll do in a minute.
If the business idea is not simple, then you still need to find the simplest language to describe it. Saying you work in IT solutions doesn ’ t really explain anything. Don ’ t get bogged down in the detail at this stage. ‘ It ’ s an internet business that provides people with X ’ is fi ne for the moment. If you are having trouble, try explaining the customer benefi t. This is the benefi t that your customers derive from what you offer. It may well not be the same as what you do. How you deliver the product or service is rarely as interesting as the problem it solves. For example, in the case of a brand of biscuits, the manufac-turer may claim they are ‘ lovingly hand - crafted from the fi nest ingredients ’ , but the customer benefi t is simply that they taste great.
If this simple expression of the idea meets with general acceptance, from you when you have lived with it for a while and from people you respect, then you should be able to move on. Importantly, though, if there are signifi cant doubts then you may need to scrap it. There ’ s nothing more boring than a person who insists on clinging onto a lame duck idea when it pat-ently isn ’ t going to work. Bear in mind that most suc-cessful businesses have rejected many prototypes and initial thoughts. It ’ s a crucial editing skill that you need to adopt when starting a business . So, be precise about the idea , ditch all the bad ones, and refi ne the expression of it so that it is short, clear, and intelligi-ble for anyone.
