How many times have we sat at our desks, our tables or driven our cars and dreamed of creating an entrepreneurial venture from the germ of an idea?
We cross paths with people everyday who fantasize like ourselves, about embarking on an entrepreneurial journey.
But many factors, such as the inherent risks associated with a business venture, make many of us hesitant to take on such a challenge.
Still, entrepreneurship is liberating and empowering, and it is quite possible to eliminate some of the risks if one zealously engages in a sensible, strategic process when investigating a potential venture creation.
That creation process should always begin with a search for the right venture idea for you.
At first glance, that process may appear simple and straightforward, but there are some crucial elements that will help minimize the risk and embrace a successful launch for aspiring entrepreneurs.
The world is full of ideas, virtually limitless.
Entrepreneurial opportunities arise from social and technological change within our society.
And the changes our economic world is going through now, both socially and technologically, are definitely greater than we might ever expect to see again in our lifetime.
So where is that next million dollar idea opportunity hiding, waiting to be discovered?
The answer is within you. Remember my old dictums—an entrepreneur looks at the world the same as everyone else but thinks differently; an entrepreneur looks at the world and sees solutions instead of continuing problems.
But a great idea by itself doesn’t logically guarantee success. An entrepreneur needs to be able to recognize when a concept has a realistic and potentially realizable chance to become something tangible, to “hit it out of the park.”
So I believe opportunity recognition is the mantra of clear choice for an entrepreneurial expedition.
How do you recognize this idea that you hope becomes an opportunity for you? What exactly does this little creature look like?
It has to do with analyzing both the product or service in relation to the market you hope it will serve and explore if they may intersect favourably.
Let me capsulize for you the following entrepreneur gospel: An idea is an opportunity when it is attractive, durable, timely and is anchored in a product or service that creates or adds value for its end user.
So below are some issues to address in your investigative process of that idea:
a) Market demand: We are looking for a potential set of customers in the marketplace who may be currently under-served (such as our aging population) and who may be looking for a particular product or service to fill a specific need that they have. Such a product or service that adds value to people’s lives is the foundation of a successful entrepreneurial venture and will assist in the product or service selling itself.
b) Passion: Always one of my favourites, as my friends and colleagues will attest. Being passionate about your new product or service increases your ability and enthusiasm to market it. That passion means you are far more likely to persevere when others may stumble. Being passionate also means you will be more inclined to build your skills, expertise and understanding of the particular product or service you are intending to take to the market.
c) Skills: We all develop certain skills through the experiences of our life and our career/job paths. Most people with then intend to match such skills with a market need to create their opportunity.
e) Resources: Access to relevant resources can make the venture launch a reality and even contribute to providing the aspiring entrepreneur with a competitive advantage.
To take it one step further, I have a list of 50 some tools for creating ideas that can be viewed at my website creatingminds.org/tools/tools_ideation.htm.
