I have a great idea
The euphoria of having a great idea is real. Inventors and explorers are addicted to finding something new, something undiscovered, something that is beautiful, and especially something that is mesmerizing. The feeling of seeing others admire our inventions, recognize the beauty in our work, and place a high value on our efforts is very addictive. We create and explore because something is broken and we have a deep need to fix it, because we want to do something no one has ever done, because it is simply the only way to do it, at least in our minds. We create because it is our nature. Our creations are beautiful.
But, is it a business?
How do I know that I am in Ideation Stage?
Creating an idea for a business is very specific – it is either a product or a service, maybe a combination of the two; it requires specific know-how or a unique process that currently doesn’t exist; it requires a bit of work, sometimes a lot of work, to put the various pieces together; and, it requires time and focus to simply get it done!
Let’s just say that you are done, the product works, the service is functional, it was tested and delivered. Great! Now what?
In every business, there is a time of a first sale: the pitch, the struggle to explain, the arguments, and then….. the sale.
Most people think that this is it; but, no, you are not done. You see, most of the time, the first sale is to a friendly party: a relative, a friend, a current business associate, even a neighbor. That sale is not based on pure market conditions – it is biased. To move out of the Ideation Stage, the business must function outside of the comfort zone of a related consumer. Try making a sale to a stranger, and then do it again, and then again, and again, and yet again, and so forth.
How do I know when I am finished with an Ideation Stage?
You have succeeded in making a sale, and many like it, to complete strangers, and they are coming for more. Is this it? Are you done?
Unfortunately, the answer is a big no. The Ideation Stage includes other factors that the inventor must work through before settling down into a business. For example, if you are making a product, are raw materials readily available? In other words, are there limits to producing or providing your product or service? What are those limits? Can you work through them somehow?
The idea is not only what you sell, it also includes the supply and distribution chains. If you create a product that is illegal, only for a single client, only under very specific conditions that you do not control, then your business may not be sustainable. In fact, it may not be a business, but only a unique and limited opportunity to profit. Such opportunities exist all over the place, from government action to wars to natural disasters.
For an idea to be considered a business, it must be repeatable under various circumstances without a predefined short-term existential limit. It is conceivable that you can be very profitable in the Ideation Stage; but, you may not be able to move forward to a desired profitable exit without solving your supply or distribution chains.
Who should use our services?
For inventors and explorers who have tested their ideas and have been able to create a repeatable customer base, we represent a means of organizing and settling down into a business operation, where their efforts can be concentrated on revenue generation and producing exactly what the customer wants.
Outsourcing short-circuits the hiring process, the experimentation with employees that is time consuming and costly. Outsourcing introduces complex functions that have been developed for other companies, tried and experimented on others, available immediately without extensive trial and error. And, outsourcing makes a small start-up seem better organized and more sophisticated in the eyes of investors.
