STEP SIX: FIRST GROW ORGANICALLY
It's great that so many people are prepared to take the risk of starting a business to realise their dreams and aspirations. Many small operators started their businesses with an idea of something they couLd do better or differentLy to the way they perceive the market is being serviced. Then, having taken the pLunge. they are Left with the enormousLy difficuLt task of making it work.
After the initial rush of starting the business, many start to flounder. They are not getting enough traction so they begin an endless cycle of concept, developing and tweaking, looking for the trends in the market and latching on to every new opportunity hoping it has the ability to kick them along the path to success. Their 'workshop' is so full of half- finished projects. abandoned ideas. ideas-in-waiting that it is really difficult to describe what they do. never mind. where they are going.
What does this mean? In their minds they already know what the idea or concept looks like and then they start working backwards to create the version they have already imagined. Business operators that work this way are often perfectionists. They are so used to getting things done to the standard that satisfies them that this is the only version they will accept. Perfection in the mind's eye bears little resemblance to the lumpy, rough-edged reality of getting things off the ground.
They also see this as the monetised version, and when the anticipated results do not materialise, the business owner starts to treat the product as having some flaw and either it is abandoned or reworked and the process begins again. Not working on the final version does not mean that you should not have a vision of the end-result you want; only that this version should guide you but the version you grow is more important because this version comes with real experience. and progressively. real feedback and real user data. If the imagined and emerging version are the same. great. but if not you must learn to react to the reality not justify the gaps and drag out problems.
Set the concept
The only part of your new business concept you must set in stone is that it is consistent with your story. If you value fairness and respect. it should be out of the question that your business will depend on cheap labour using sweatshops. Know who the market is for your concept and keep them firmly in mind. It does not mean that they will ever be the only market but remember designing for everyone will usually ensure it is appealing to no one.
Once you have set the concept and laid out your initial plans. you should aim for proof of concept. Develop your prototype or pilot before building out. Do your customers value the product? Does it work as you intended? Use a workable version to test feasibility and evaluate potential. How much research you should do depends on the cost of getting started. If the cost is negligible (including upfront cost and cost of failure such as impact on customers) then it is worth trying with very little research. You can take this approach to any new investment: a product. service. your website. marketing. even locations as the pop-up concept becomes popular.
Iterate, iterate, iterate
Iteration is the process of constant repetitio