Nothing is more challenging than turning an idea into a business opportunity.
When successful, it’ll be the best achievement in your life as an upstart entrepreneur.
But there are a handful of reasons why most ideas never turn into reality. It can be money, lack of demand and opportunities, no sense of direction or you simply end up losing interest.
Business success isn’t achieved overtime – it requires a persistent push, perseverance, and utter determination.
All those attributes make up for the lack of experience and skills. The fact that you have an idea for a prospective business is more than enough motivation on its own.
Putting in the work to turn your ideas into a business means doing more than just writing them down on a vision board. In other words, you must walk the talk.
The things on your mind right now have the potential of changing your life forever, but they must be converted into action steps. Here’s what you have to do:
1 – Determine if Your Idea Solves a Problem
In business, problems exist before solutions. You can’t offer a product or service that no one needs. So, figure out if your idea answers a question, solves a problem, or provides a solution to a specific need.
This is the most important step. Don’t skip it!
If you don’t solve any problems then it’s very hard to create a business from it.
Also, don’t worry if your idea isn’t unique – it won’t be. Somebody has thought about it before, I guarantee it. But that’s okay because it’s all about the execution of the idea.
2 – Gauge the Competition
You’re excited because you feel like your idea is unique; you’ve seen no one with the same business concept. But don’t rely on initial observation. Instead, dig a little deeper and find out if there’s an existing competitor out there.
Don’t be afraid of the competition. Even if they are huge and seem like they will crush you. Often times being small and agile can have it’s advantages, especially in today’s time.
It’ll help you figure out how to make your approach to a specific niche or industry distinctive.
3 – Find a Market
Now you’re confident that someone takes an interest in your product or service. But that’s beside the point. You must focus on finding a market for your idea.
Consider if people need it; and if they do, can they afford it? For any business idea to become a reality, there has to be a chance for the resulting product or service to reach potential buyers. Without a market, you’ll have no target audience to convert into customers.
4 – Seek a Business Consultant’s Advice or Mentor
Accept that you’re an upstart.
So, keep your feet on the ground. Even with an expansive imagination and the talent to make it a reality, you still need the advice of someone who’s been there and done that.
Working with a business consultant means you get much-needed guidance; he’d be the one to make sense of your idea. Consultants have an extensive connection in the industry, which you later will need for funding, marketing, and support.
5 – Build the Team
It’s your idea, but you don’t have to be a one-man-show. You need a team to turn your ideas into a business.
Building the right team is hard and sometimes tasks a little bit of trial and error, especially if you don’t have any experience in hiring and firing.
The goal is to speed things up. You hire people because they bring knowledge and skill that you don’t have.
You’re about to operate a machine with several moving parts; the only way for it to work is to get all those parts running.
6 – Create a Plan
A plan is a groundwork for success. Without it, you’ll have no sense of direction.
It doesn’t need to be complicated.
In fact, it’s better if it isn’t. If it’s a single page, at least at first and then you can build from there.
Why?…
Because your plan is going to change as you build your business.
It puts your ideas in one place, organizing your thoughts and painting a clearer picture.
7 – Look for Investors
Depending on the type of business you have, you might be able to skip this step. If you can keep your overhead low and can start making money immediately you might not need investors.
However, sometimes there’s just no way you’ll fund your business on your own, so you must convince other people that your idea will make money. For example, if you’re building a new social media platform, you’ll need to invest in technology and will have to build a user base before creating a revenue stream. There are many years, maybe even decades of money going into the business without return.
You’ll have to decide for yourself if you need investment or not. If you do decide to look for investors, you don’t need to go out of your inner circle for this. Go with investors with minimal risks to your credit standing and reputation, i.e., family, friends, and maybe crowdfunding. Throw in your savings, too. Up the ante by pitching to a venture capitalist once you’re stable.
Remember Amazon’s first investors were Jeff Bezos’ parents who invested a large percentage of their life savings into the company.
8 – Build your Brand
Once you’ve got funding, focus on building and solidifying your brand. The best thing about turning ideas into business in the digital age is that you have at your disposal tools that weren’t available a couple of decades ago.
Promoting your business and reaching out to your target audience has never been easier, thanks to social media and other online marketing platforms. There’s even no need for expensive traditional advertising.
Build a reputation, show everyone that you’re an expert in your industry. Do this before you unveil your brand. This way, you’ll have a loyal following on social media before you stage your brand. The way to do this varies, but start building email lists, creating blogs, and submitting press releases.
Final Thoughts
There isn’t a mystery or secret recipe in turning ideas into a money-making venture. Anyone can do it but expect challenges and struggles along the way. If you focus on obtaining a distinct value proposition and successfully identifying a target market, your ideas go a long way, even to the point of turning your life around.
Joel Mark Harris graduated from the Langara School of Journalism in 2007. Joel is an award-winning journalist, novelist, screenwriter and producer.
He has ghostwritten numerous books in all types of genres including true life crime, business, memoir, and self help. With over 1,000 blog posts to his name, he has helped hundreds of business owners scale their business and increase their visibility. You can email him at info@ghostwritersandco.com
