Coming up with great ideas is the easy part; it’s turning those ideas into reality and taking action on them that can prove difficult. If you’ve had a business idea that you just know your potential future customers are going to love, it’s getting it off the ground and turning it into concrete reality that can take a lot of time and effort.
The good news is that even if you’re short on resources, turning your business dreams into a reality doesn’t have to be difficult. There are several ways in which you can secure funding, get the support that you need, and take your business ideas further than you ever dreamed. We’ve put together some top tips to help you take your idea to the next level.
#1. Ask for Ideas:
If you’ve got a great idea for a business but no idea what to do next, then there’s no shame in asking for ideas. Whether you take your questions to Twitter and Reddit or ask your family and friends, getting a fresh perspective on your stance can work wonders. Perhaps you have a team of friends who would be willing to help you put your business together; get everybody together to ask them what you think the next best step to take would be. Nobody has all the answers, so the more heads that you can get together to come up with fresh ideas, the better.
#2. Secure Funding:
Securing funding to help your business get off the ground is usually one of the trickier processes, however, once you have it, everything else will start falling into place. Getting funding for your start-up can often be a process of trial and error, especially since today there are several different types of funding options that you might want to look into. For example, crowdfunding is becoming an increasingly popular method of raising funds for a new business, or you might want to look into pitching your idea to an angel investor and having them come on board not only with funding, but also with support. If you want to avoid going down the traditional bank loan route, a small business marketplace could be a good alternative idea for you.
#3. Network with Experts:
Have a great business idea but have no idea where to start? In this case, it could be a good idea for you to take the time to get to know some experts who can point you in the right direction. If you’ve never started your own business before, it’s not unusual for the process of getting a start-up off the ground to be daunting. Speaking to people who’ve been in your position before and made a success of it can give you a whole wealth of awesome ideas for the future. You can network at events and conferences in person, or get active on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook groups where you can often find some great people.
#4. Invest a Small Amount:
It’s completely normal to feel worried about investing a large amount of money into a business idea that hasn’t yet proven itself. If you’re on the edge when it comes to putting your money into the idea, it’s a wise plan to invest a small, affordable amount to see how things pan out. For example, just $200 could get you set up with an online presence; covering all the basics such as a domain name, a basic hosting plan, and some social media accounts. Test your idea with some simple online advertising to see how many people click through and are interested. This should give you a clearer picture of what to expect in the future, and you can take things from there.
#5. Improve Upon Existing Competitors:
When the idea is a spin on, or an improvement of, an existing product/service in the marketplace, use that to modify your idea for the better. Test out the product/service to see where it does well and places that it’s lacking. Read customer reviews about what’s being offered. What are the pain points not being solved by the existing product/service? How can your idea be changed to fill that need enough to make those customers willing to switch providers? Make the changes necessary to have a competitive advantage from launch day.
#6. Get Moving Quickly:
The longer you wait to start, the less likely you ever will. Each obstacle in your way must be overcome quickly to push ahead. Otherwise, it’s all too easy to get bogged down in tasks to complete before you can get the business off the ground.
Make a list of the things you have to do to launch the business venture. Add a second column for a contact that’ll be useful to help get that task accomplished quickly or better than you could do it alone. Then add a third column for a due date. Run through the tasks every day, follow up on any contacts that you’ve reached out to and make sure you’re moving ever closer to launching your business successfully. Doing this means the best business idea can become a real business entity soon.
If you found this article helpful, we’d love to hear from you in the comments.
