Guest Post - David Thomas - Inventya - UK Startup
Almost everyone I meet has a business idea. Whether in a professional environment or, more usually, in social situations, people respond to my line of work (helping people research, evaluate and develop their business ideas) with great enthusiasm about their own ideas. They typically come from three main areas: everyday life – where they have noticed something that could be improved or a group of people that are not adequately catered for; working life, where again, improvements could be made; and their own experience and expertise - where they have something valuable that they can offer that others cannot.
Once people start to talk about their ideas, there is a change in both their body language and their persona. This is passion. It is an attractive quality. People with passion look like they are enjoying life.
So why then do so few people go on to actually do anything about their business ideas? *
It ultimately comes down to fear.
Fear of losing money
Fear that someone else has already thought of it
Fear of lack of support or even ridicule from friends and family
Fear of not having the business knowledge required
Fear of putting in all that work for nothing
Fear of failure
The truth is, the majority of business ideas are not commercially viable – so caution is certainly no bad thing. However, many people never really try to find out how good their idea is. Are they afraid to find out that it is not a good idea after all and they were wrong? Or are they afraid to find out that it is a good idea and then there is the pressure of doing something about it?
Just find out and find out fast.
Find out: who you could be competing with and why you will be better; who exactly your customers will be and what exactly they want from you; how best to get your product into their hands; and how you can make this a profitable exercise.
If, once you have this information, you feel that you do or do not want to pursue your business idea, then it will not be because of irrational fears or worries. It will be because you did your research and made an informed decision on its commercial potential. If you do this, you will not look back later in life with the regret of what you could have achieved and the person you could have been.
So what are you afraid of?
*(NESTA suggest that of 17m people with business ideas in the UK, 13.5m will never do anything)
1.About Inventya
David Thomas is co-founder and director of market research specialists Inventya. Inventya’s i2m – Ideas to Market Software is for individuals or business owners that have an exciting idea for a new product or service, but need to carry out that critical market research before taking the leap and investing time, money and effort in making it a reality.
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