ONE OF THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS I see as a coach and consultant are business IDEAS..
Yea, those pesky little things that constantly pop into our heads all day long that are sure to be the next big thing for our company.
We (entrepreneurs) have no problem coming up with new business ideas and solutions, don't you agree?
So what's the problem?
Aren't entrepreneurs supposed to change the world with their big business ideas?
The answer is yes. However for every entrepreneur that changes the world, there are thousands more who fail.
And it really doesn't have to be that big of a statistic.
Here's why:
Most entrepreneurs go from the idea phase , to the ‘production’ phase.
They don't spend time testing and validating their business ideas.
Therefore, so many of those entrepreneurs lose steam, money and can no longer sustain their business so they end up closing shop.
How do we fix the problem?
The answer is so simple, you'll wonder why so many business ideas fail.
Here it is:
ASK YOUR CUSTOMER to validate your business ideas. (potential customer that is)
See? I told you it was simple – yet very few do it.
The few who DO it, survive – at least longer than anyone else.
And that doesn’t mean EVERY ONE of their business ideas rock.
They just find out sooner, rather than later, which ones are worth pursuing…and more importantly, which ones they should drop.
That leaves them with the money, resources, time and everything else they would have spent creating something nobody wants, to do – err…rather TEST the next idea.
However, like I said, these are the few. The masses are entrepreneurs tying to figure out marketing messages, price points and distribution channels…and if someone will actually BUY their thing, all on their own.
When all they needed to do was ask:
“Hey, do you have this specific problem? Would this (your product / service) work for you? How so? What have you already tried to fix the problem? Where would you expect to buy this solution? How? What would you expect to pay for something like this?”
And so on…
I could write a book on the “customer discovery” process because it's what I do every day for my own business ideas…
This is also the first thing I instruct my coaching clients to do…because just like you and me, they have big business ideas too!
When you constantly go back to the market and ask them to validate each step of the way, marketing later on becomes a cinch.
Why?
Because indirectly, your customers will TELL YOU exactly what to say!
You just have to LISTEN – and here’s a novel idea – WRITE IT DOWN!
🙂
The bottom line is this: your big business idea is probably killer…and I'll bet you a dollar, that you'll discover something you've never thought about if you just take the time to go through the process of talking to your customers.
The BONUS, like I mentioned already, to all of this validation, is you'll discover a dud much sooner, spending LESS time, energy, and money building something nobody wanted in the first place.
And believe me, THOSE duds are the stepping stones to the ideas that change the world.
So let your customers tell you which business ideas are great, not your friends, your spouse or your Nona … they all love ya too much to hurt your feelings.