The people behind Twitter were incredibly lucky. They weren\’t lucky because they had a great idea.
They weren\’t even lucky that no one else had thought of their idea before them.
They were lucky that the system took just two weeks to build.
My staff and I get together for regular brainstorming sessions. We toss out ideas left, right and center. By the time we walk out of that room, we\’ve got a white board filled with great concepts any one of which could bring in a steady stream of bucks.
But we only get to implement one or two of them.
The problem isn\’t the lack of ideas. Ideas are unlimited because creativity is unlimited.
What\’s really limited is time.
You need time to build what you\’re planning to sell. You need time to persuade a market to look at it. And you need time to assess whether or not your gut was right and whether buyers are going to bite.
I\’ve seen far too many people come to me with a sparkle in their eye and a great concept in their head… only never to hear from them again. They had an idea. But they failed to follow it through.
They didn\’t invest enough time in creating their product the right way. They didn\’t develop a marketing plan and put it into practice at the right moments and in front of the right people. They didn\’t give their idea time to grow into a business.
When you\’re looking to step out on your own, it\’s important to have a concept that you\’re passionate about. You will need both that idea and the passion if you\’re going to succeed. But you\’ll also need plenty of the practical stuff.
You\’ll need knowledge of how to create your product (or where to find someone who can create it for you).
You\’ll need a close enough understanding of your market to know what makes them tick and what will persuade them to buy.
And you\’ll need the determination to see the inevitable setbacks and hurdles as challenges to be overcome not reasons to throw in the towel.
All good businesses start with the seed of an idea. But they\’re grown with dedication and hard work.