{"id":1533,"date":"2019-07-05T19:32:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-05T09:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/2019\/07\/05\/5-tips-for-developing-a-business-idea-into-a-real-venture\/"},"modified":"2019-07-05T19:32:00","modified_gmt":"2019-07-05T09:32:00","slug":"5-tips-for-developing-a-business-idea-into-a-real-venture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/2019\/07\/05\/5-tips-for-developing-a-business-idea-into-a-real-venture\/","title":{"rendered":"5 tips for developing a business idea into a real venture"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having a solid business idea is a far cry from having a successful business. In this article, Benjamin Kluwgant discusses the best ways to approach turning your concept into a reality.<\/em><\/p>\n

Have you ever been working your day job and all of a sudden experienced a light bulb moment with a genius business idea?<\/p>\n

Well, if you have, you\u2019re certainly not alone. These days, anyone with even the slightest drop of entrepreneurial spirit in their blood tends to come up with an idea every now and again that they consider taking on.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, these ideas don\u2019t often come to fruition due to obstacles such as\u00a0limited access to funding<\/a>, lack of know-how or readiness to leave a full-time and secure job. Other times, a simple lack of follow through can be the culprit. The idea then goes begging and joins millions of others in an ocean of missed opportunities.<\/p>\n

In the small percentage of instances that such an idea is taken seriously though, moving from the idea phase into the creation of an actual business is nothing short of an uphill battle with an endless amount of challenges.<\/p>\n

But, if the right strategies are used and if the idea is approached with a disciplined attitude, these unavoidable challenges can play a huge part in setting up a long-lasting business with strong foundations.<\/p>\n

In order to get some insight from an experienced, early-stage business mentor, I reached out to Alan Tsen, Melbourne general manager of\u00a0Stone and Chalk<\/a>\u00a0and chair of\u00a0Fintech Australia<\/a>, asking for his take on how to approach this delicate transition from idea to business.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

1. Setting realistic expectations<\/h3>\n

According to Tsen, before even beginning the journey from idea to full-fledged business, it is important to align your expectations with the reality of the situation, which is: starting a business is far closer to tip-toeing through a minefield than it is to a stroll in the park.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a010 mistakes entrepreneurs make<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding a company is hard,\u201d Tsen told The Pulse. \u201cIn fact, in many ways it\u2019s an impossible task that requires super human levels of focus and determination. It\u2019s a grinding process that takes years of relentless work with many pitfalls and landmines.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Stay focused \u2013 keep your eye on the prize<\/h3>\n

Assuming you can come to terms with the \u2018mission-impossible\u2019 type of venture that lies ahead, there are a number of important strategies that Tsen outlined that can help make the transition more manageable.<\/p>\n

The first strategy is simple: avoid distraction at all costs.<\/p>\n

Based on Tsen\u2019s experience in watching early-stage business founders undergo this transition, he said that it\u2019s \u201ceasy to get distracted\u201d by the next \u201cshiny thing\u201d that looks like it\u2019ll make your business more successful.<\/p>\n

While \u2018shiny objects\u2019 are often tempting, they can be very dangerous. In the competitive world of startups and innovation that we live in today, it is of paramount importance to stay focused on building the solution to the problem you originally identified.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

According to Tsen, in order to play in the league of \u201cgreat startups\u201d, the focus needs to be in creating one solution that is \u201ca magnitude of order better\u201d than any other pre-existing solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing maniacally focused on what your customers need and solving their problem is the key early on.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. Validate and answer hard questions early<\/h3>\n

It doesn\u2019t matter how good your business idea might be \u2013 when you start out, there are always going to be fundamental questions that need to be answered.<\/p>\n

Tsen encouraged those starting out with their business ideas to \u201ctest the hard ones early\u201d and not to be afraid to face those challenges head on.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example,\u201d explained Tsen, \u201cwill a customer actually pay you money for the product? Is this product really 10 times better? If it isn\u2019t (which is fine early on), what is your proposed pathway to get there?\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t shrug off the fundamentals or assume you \u2018just know\u2019 whether or not something will work. If you launch your business without answering those questions first, you\u2019ll end up scrambling for answers when it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n

4. Balance the company vision with customer input<\/h3>\n

Another strategy Tsen implored people to implement at the early stages of proving a business concept is to effectively balance your mission statement with the input you receive from potential customers.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re in the validation phase, you have no choice but to consider the feedback offered by those within your target market. Often that feedback can lead to distractions which compromise your vision for the business\u2019 direction.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0When should you begin paying yourself?<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h4>\n

\u201cHave a view and vision for the company and then augment that with what your customers tell you,\u201d said Tsen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can do that well, you\u2019ll end up in the sweet spot of being both valuable and unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

5. Don\u2019t let failure scare you<\/h3>\n

At the early stage of a business venture, risk of failure is extremely high. Entering the unknown, testing and tweaking your offering and keeping up with industry trends are all things that invite enough challenge to cause even the most ambitious of people to fail harshly.<\/p>\n

As we saw from\u00a0SpaceIL\u2019s failed attempt to land on the moon earlier this year<\/a>, successful stories are all filled with plenty of turbulent times and failures.<\/p>\n

If you can maintain focus, find the courage to answer the hard questions, balance your vision with customer input and be ready to accept failure, there isn\u2019t much that can stop you from building a high-quality business.<\/p>\n

Source : MYOB June 2019 <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Reproduced with the permission of MYOB. This article by\u00a0Benjamin Kluwgant<\/a> was originally published at\u00a0https:\/\/www.myob.com\/au\/blog\/business-idea-startup-tips\/?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Important:<\/span>
This provides general information and hasn\u2019t taken your circumstances into account. It\u2019s important to consider your particular circumstances before deciding what\u2019s right for you. Although the information is from sources considered reliable, we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete. You should not rely upon it and should seek qualified advice before making any investment decision. Except where liability under any statute cannot be excluded, we do not accept any liability (whether under contract, tort or otherwise) for any resulting loss or damage of the reader or any other person.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Having a solid business idea is a far cry from having a successful business. In this article, Benjamin Kluwgant discusses the best ways to approach turning your concept into a reality. Have you ever been working your day job and all of a sudden experienced a light bulb moment with a genius business idea? Well, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-general-articles","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1533\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gpadviser.com.au\/gpl-theme-1-2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}