Are you a budding entrepreneur with a great idea?  Do you have lots of creative thoughts but no money and no clue where to start?  There are five things everyone should know about starting a business that are very different from what one would normally think a business person should know!  And believe it or not…you too can start a successful business.

First of all, lets look at five myths that many of us have heard we need to address before starting a business!

Myth #1:  I need a great idea that no one has thought of  before to get rich.

Myth #2: I need a lot of money to make a lot of money

Myth #3: I have to go back to school to learn how to start a business

Myth #4: I need a 20 page plan…

Myth #5: I need a building full of inventory to get started

While these statements have been the tried and true foundations of traditional business start up thinking, I want to challenge you to shift your mindset for a moment.  Most successful business people did not have it all figured out before they made their first dollar. Most of them had no money, no inventory, no plan, and hardly a clue about what would work.  What they did have were five very different priorities that determined their potential success before they found themselves in debt with no customers!

So here they are!

#1:  Find your passion.

What are you passionate about? What do you enjoy? What are you great at?  These are key to running a successful business. If you decide to start selling something that you don’t necessarily believe in, or you choose to start a business that you can’t live, breathe and eat with joy, you are done before you start.

#2: Identify a problem to solve

Most successful businesses start with a problem, or what we call a pain point for someone.  Things that are problems for other people that cause migraine level headaches need solving. No one buys products repeatedly because they are simply novel. Sustainable businesses solve problems.

#3: Find a creative solution to the problem

So you found a migraine level problem or pain point for someone and know how to make it better!  Now you are on the way to creating a sustainable solution that results in sales and profits! What will make the product or service better? What is wrong with the solutions already on the market?  Remember to think big and small when solving a problem.

#4: Experiment

Make it, bake it, fake it!  It is really important to prototype your solution. If you are going to sell cakes, make one, take it to your friends and let them eat it! Trying is cheap!  Many inventors used cardboard to mock up their designs before spending thousands of dollars to develop the finished product.  Experimenting lets you work out the bugs before you spend a lot of cash.

#5: Validate

Once you have your prototype, go talk to 50 people, find out what they honestly think about it, if they would use it, buy it, and what they would pay for it if you had 100 of them available. If 40 of the 50 people you talk to think your idea is ridiculous, you don’t need to pursue that one any longer. Pivot to another idea. If all 50 want one tomorrow, you have 50 customers waiting for you to get your products out!

Starting a business is more than hanging shingle out and advertising in the market hoping people will come see you. It is about experimentation, reiteration, and talking to people.  Make sure you pick something you can live a long time with, solve a real problem, and make sure people want it before you spend lots of money making a lot of items nobody wants.

For more information about building a business or developing your Lean Canvas Business Model, contact me at tom.darling@teamworklogic.com.