OK, so you’ve got the idea. The next best breakthrough thing. Good for you. Now what?
Many spend a whole heap of time building the thing for show and tell purposes, in the hope of it being a roaring success. Wrong!
Instead, spend the time, energy and money on creating the market first, doing the business stuff first, in order to know what to spend your time, energy and money on.
Where are you up to?
“It is one of our saddest economic statistics: More than half small businesses fail within a few years of startup. Unlike the cheery pictures presented in advertising or the success stories showcased on Shark Tank, a significant percentage of fledgling enterprises sputter and eventually die. Only 1 in 43 has any employees after 10 years. These startups don’t create much economic value. The vast majority don’t even earn as much for their founders as those people could have earned working for someone else. Dreams die, jobs are lost, and communities lose their vitality.
It does not have to be this way. In fact, if we want a robust economy with job growth, we must do something about it. I think that the solution is deceptively simple: entrepreneurs should stop thinking so much about the idea behind the business and focus instead on how to lead it.”
Against the Odds: Startups that Make It By Derek Lidow for ChangeThis.com
