Turning An Idea Into A Real Business

You have an idea. It's brilliant, it's unique, and it's going to change the world. But how do you turn that idea into a real thing? It can be a daunting task, but it's not impossible.

Creating a product is hard. It's even harder when you have no idea where to start. That's why so many people never get off the ground. They come up with an idea and think it will take care of itself. But that's not how it works. You need a process, a system that you can follow so your ideas turn into something real.

In the world of business, there are countless entrepreneurs with lofty dreams of starting the next big thing. But for every one who makes it to the top, there are hundreds more who never get beyond that early idea stage. So what separates the successes from the also-rans? Turns out, a lot of it has to do with execution.

Coming Up With An Idea

If you're like most people, you've come up with dozens, if not hundreds of ideas in your lifetime. And not all of them turned out to be good ones. Coming up with an idea is only the first step. Turning that idea into a real, functioning business takes a tremendous amount of work. There are dozens of factors to consider: who are your competitors exactly and what do they offer that you can't? What sort of resources do you have at your disposal? What sort of market are you after?

Once you have all that sorted out, you need a plan for how to turn your idea into a product that people want to buy. The good news is that good ideas don't come that easy. Plenty of people have great ideas, but their ideas are sub-par because they don't do a thorough job of planning out the whole process.

But that's where the real work begins. You need to think about all the steps involved in creating your product, from deciding what you're going to make to how exactly you're going to sell it. There are plenty of great books and blogs out there on the subject, but if you're short on time, there are a few key things to keep in mind.

First of all, be realistic. Nobody is going to drop everything and follow you just because you have a great new idea. In order for your idea to be successful, you're going to need a whole lot of people on board with it.

Secondly, plan your process. If you start off by thinking, "I'm going to make a product, and people are going to buy it for $50,000 a piece," you're not going to end up with a very good plan. You need to consider all of the steps involved in making your product, from design to manufacturing to shipping. Each of these steps is just as crucial as the other steps if not more so.

Finally, be flexible. Business is brutal. Just because you did things a certain way last time doesn't mean you're locked into doing them that way this time. Things change, and if you don't keep your plan on track, your business will suffer.

Be Passionate About You Idea

You should be passionate about your idea. Not every idea is a good one, and yours might just be one of those "bad" ideas. But if it's a good one, you should be passionate about making it a reality. It doesn't have to be a passion that comes easy. In fact, it shouldn't. You should be working at it until your passion for the idea dies down. Why? Because passion leads to energy, and energy leads to work, and work leads to success.

Don't let passion become an excuse to "sleep on it" or take up something else, because you think you're more "talented" at something else. You were probably lucky to have had that idea, and you'll be luckier to have this one. Once you've decided that your idea is good, you need to determine what you're going to make.

What problem are you going to solve for your customers? What need are you trying to fill? What are your resources? Consider all of these things. Once you have a good understanding of what your idea is and what you need to do to make it a reality, you can begin working on your plan: a blueprint of sorts for your idea.

How To Know If Your Idea Is Any Good

Before you take it upon yourself to create the next Facebook or Twitter or whatever next big thing is out there, consider whether it's a good idea. Is it something that people want? Is there a market for it? Is it something that people would pay for? These are all questions you can ask yourself, and you can also consider others: your friends, your family, your coworkers. If no one you ask thinks that it's a good idea, maybe it's not.

If your idea is good but hasn't been done before, that's not a bad thing. But if you think of the hundreds of other things just like it that already exist, you may want to think again. Once you've evaluated your idea, you've got a better idea of whether it's a good one or not. Now you just need to take the next step: deciding how to make it a reality.

Final Thoughts

Now that you think your idea is good, you can start to think about making it a reality. You need to decide whether your idea is something that can be turned into a product, whether it's an innovation that people will want to pay for.

If it's the latter, you'll need a way to get people to pay for it, and you'll need to be comfortable with the business side of things: taxes, marketing, planning, and so on. If it's the former, you're going to need to build a product that people actually want.

Either way, you're going to need a plan. The more detailed the better. Otherwise, you'll end up in the same situation that hundreds of other entrepreneurs find themselves in: stuck.

Thank you for reading.