5 Keys To Your New Business Idea

You want to create an idea that spreads.

The best idea is to have LOTS of ideas. Pick one and go. The market does NOT care about you and an idea doesn’t need to even be the best (very generic concept) it needs to actually solve a problem that people will spend money on to fix.

You might get advice like “ask the market what they want and sell it back to them” but that is not exactly right. Because between what people SAY they would buy and what they open up their wallets for are two different things.

Not all ideas are ones that can be monetized, not all monetized ideas can scale, not all scalable monetized ideas turn into real businesses and sell for high multiples.

So you’ve got to narrow down a few personal objectives for yourself to know what the best idea FOR YOU is all about.

Are you wanting a lifestyle business or an equity business?

That will determine a huge amount of the strategy you want to deploy.

But if we backtrack for a moment and assume the reason you’re asking about the best idea is because you may be fearful of having the wrong idea which is detrimental entrepreneur thinking.

ALL IDEAS THAT BECOME SUCCESSFUL ARE RELEASED IMPERFECT AND MODIFIED TO ALLEVIATE A PAIN TO THE POINT PEOPLE CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT THEM.

You cannot, CANNOT know what your idea will be like without releasing it! So other people can try, test, iterate, give you criticism and feedback.

Here are some ways to do this:

1. Minimal Viable Product
1. Release a 10% version FAST. Like in the next 30 days get something out so other people can see what it’s all about and if it can be “sticky”
2. Do NOT waste money and time creating a 100% “perfect” version before you get it to someone. That’s ego and also fear. Microsoft let the market iterate for them. The first versions of everything you use on a daily basis is STILL being made better.
2. Minimal Viable Audience
1. Often never talked about but your objective is not to get 10,000 people to sign up for your widget tomorrow. It’s to find 10 people who are RAVING fans about your product to the point they WILLINGLY and without any coercion - share it. It’s the holy grail!
2. Find 10 people who, if your product dies tomorrow, would be DEVASTATED and actually outraged. It’s very hard to do but it’s how winning business ideas are born.
3. This is how gamification works and social sharing/proof is part of the strategy
3. Mindset
1. It will take you longer than you think
2. It will be harder than you think
3. Your results will be far less than you think for a long time
4. So stay with your idea until you know when to quit or hit the accelerator (yes quite fast or pivot fast if it’s not good) - the market will tell you!
4. Money
1. Don’t bother trying to get funding. If your idea has legs you should be able to grow your business organically from a little of your own startup capital. Anywhere from $500-$10k should get you going.
2. The illusion of needing more money in the beginning, will stop you from being creative about solving the real problem: What do people want, what AREN'T they saying they want, what will they actually buy?
5. Marketing
1. Do not be led astray. Steve Jobs, Elon musk, Colonel Sanders, Howard Schultz, Tony Robbins and etc are the worlds TOP marketers first. Then their skills second. They know how to penetrate hearts and minds with transcendent ideas.
2. Start reading and understanding how marketing and advertising works.
3. All marketing MAKES money. You get a return on the money you spend. Advertising doesn’t that is for brands and when you have $1 billion you can worry about billboards with one sentence that sells the dream. Until then learn about direct marketing and copywriting to help get your idea out there.

I would also recommend writing out at least 20–100 new ideas each day for the next week. It will train you to LOOK for opportunities in everyday life. When one seems viable then focus 100% on getting that 10% version out in the shortest amount of time.

Keep this in mind: You want an idea that is not a supplement; it needs to be a PAINKILLER.

Finally, just start.

As the saying goes “you don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”

Vaughan.