Planting seeds (taking time to grow ideas for your business)

You’re only as good as your last performance, goes the adage. That product, idea or process is what has given your small business the reputational clout it has today. But while past performance is an indicator of future performance, it’s not enough to ensure business success.

Why’s that? Things change. The market may shift, your client needs may evolve, or a technological advance may shake things up. If that happens, your last performance may not carry the weight it used to. That’s why it’s important to always be “germinating” new ideas for your business. Ideas are opportunities, after all!

Here’s how to plant the idea seeds your business needs to weather any season.

Finding the seeds to plant

Creatives are constantly asked where they get their ideas. The answer is usually from everywhere. We’re all surrounded by problems and challenges. Every time a client comes to us with a question or a need we’re witnessing the seed of an idea. When we read, research or talk to people in our industry – or outside it! – we’re being exposed to new thinking and solutions that could potentially be transposed into a business model or solution.

We’re often tricked into thinking that ideas are lightbulb epiphanies that occur without context. But that’s not true at all. Most ideas are the result of the intersection between existing ideas, theories or solutions. As you read, network and chat, make note of these intersections, especially if they occur again and again. These are most likely to become your idea “seeds”. The most viable ones will probably occur at the edges of your business – that is, they’re ideas that are related to what you do, or are a natural offshoot or extension of it.

Watering your business ideas

So you’ve been jotting down your idea seeds and you have a hundred possible options. How do you go about narrowing down this list of contenders? Relevance, functionality, viability and interest are all key factors. Highlight the solutions that are most germane to what you do – and what your customers need. Consider costs, development time and potential profit. If an idea is going to take ten years to develop and will put you in substantial debt while doing so, it may be best to put it on the back burner. Rank your ideas and pick just one or two exemplars to proceed with.

Unless you’re working in an ultra-speedy space where obsolescence is always looming, it’s okay to sit on a promising idea for a while. Rather than running headlong into production, take some time to think around your idea and see if you’re considering everything you need to. Is there a better solution? Does that solution already exist? Be honest in your consideration, because it’s much cheaper and easier to nix an idea at this stage than later on.

Watching your ideas sprout

So you’ve landed on your idea. Before implementing it, take the time to test it. It’s tempting to build out an incredible product to dazzle the world with, but the truth is building it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to come. Don’t spend time and money building something you only think people want. Take a leaf out of the Lean Startup handbook and build the simplest possible iteration of your product to take to the customers whose buy-in you need.

For example, if you’re writing an ebook, start with just the contents page or a one paragraph blurb. Contact prospective customers and ask whether they’d pay your proposed price for this product – and if not, what needs to change. Collate your customer feedback and use it to build the next iteration of your idea (or scrap it, if that’s the feedback you get), and so on.

Sure, this approach involves a lot of back and forth, but it ensures that your idea meets customer needs – and expectations. It’s more efficient to add to an idea bit by bit than it is to throw away months or even years of work.

Propagating new ideas

A small business owner’s work is never done, so don’t go resting on those laurels. Throughout the iteration process you should be continuing to jot down ideas and possibilities. Your understanding of the market or your industry is dynamic and ever-evolving, and your ideas will shift accordingly.

Keep learning, listening and engaging, and you’ll never be short of ideas. Be strategic about how you implement those idea “seeds” and build customer feedback into the process, and you’ll have a lot more “shoots” than misses!

Overwhelmed by the idea of creating something new? 

Let’s chat about how a virtual assistant can take your ideas and bring them to life!