Why Create a Startup? When people are focussed, they are passionate and they want to succeed more than anything else!
“There is nothing more enjoyable than starting a business from scratch and watching it grow; it’s yours, it’s because of you, it’s rewarding, it’s satisfying, it’s alive…” – Entrepreneurs
But when it comes to ideas that do or don’t have potential, well this is the biggest problem that most people come up against. “Should I or shouldn’t I, hmmmm……” and nothing happens after that…. WHY NOT?!
Because, if there is one thing that makes a business startup successful, it is “Belief (in the start-up), Passion (about making it succeed) and Tenacity (to overcome adversity)“.
People ask me “I have an idea, do you think it will work”, well of course it can work…. but we need to know how we can make it work to begin with, and that begins with ticking all of these ‘boxes’:
- Who is your customer,
- What is the market,
- What market integration opportunities are their,
- What does the sustainability “balance” look like (financial, legislative, resources, supply chain, access to customer, market research etc.),
- How do we manage the business intricacies to translate “Idea” into “Business”
- What drives the person to make it succeed. Do they have Belief? Are they Passionate? Are they Tenacious?
Making it Work!
Isn’t that a good idea, “making it work”, because that is what business is all about isn’t it? If it doesn’t work, then it will be “making it fail”, wouldn’t it?
But to really “make it work” it is about stripping down the complete idea/relationship – There are some fantastic ideas that are created every second, but unless the person creating the startup has Belief, Passion and the Tenacity to “make it work”, they may as well just keep doing what they are doing, the chances of success are likely to be almost ‘0’, nil, and everybody is wasting their time…
Successful start-ups are driven by people who never gave up, they persevered, they insisted on finding a way when all other options were closed, they had a burning need to see their idea fulfilled and they would not stop until it was noticed.
Do I have what it takes?
This is what is needed, first and foremost, for a startup to have any chance of survival/success:
- Idea (5%) – If there are customers, a market, a growing opportunity and a measurable balance of sustainability, we are only 5% of the way there….. Belief, Passion and Tenacity make up the remaining 95%
- Belief – Knowing the idea, what its potential is and what the plan is to get the business to become viable, sustainable, resilient and with a clear growth trajectory.
- Passion – Knowing that people may see things differently, remaining vigilant and determined to see that the idea is realised, giving every effort your best effort and making the idea a reality.
- Tenacity – The fuel that empowers you when things become ‘too hard’, it is about lifting your head with guts and determination and soldiering on, chasing an opportunity out of nothing, fixing problems and not giving up, seeking alternatives when road blocks are put in the way. Being Tenacious is
For a Startup to be Successful – it requires the full 100%……. because, 99% will only be doing the startup an injustice, providing a shortfall when it could have otherwise been better.
Where to from here?
So now that I am confident that “I have what it takes” and “I can make it work”, it is time to begin…..
- Look at the product or service that you intend to create as a start-up, are you sure you want to do this?
- Create a Name; something tenable, something fitting, something that enables your name to hold IP, Trademark and other important (website, social media) marketing tools without being overlooked, or, where your hard work is shared with others who did nothing,
- Conduct Research, ensure there is a market, ensure what you have will have a growing customer base, look for other integrated opportunities.
- Cashflow is King, without cash coming in it will be difficult to continue to fund a startup. This could mean maintaining a job until such time that the business is fully funded etc.
- Ask people what they think, see if you can build a network of supporters before the startup hits the market.
- Network, network, network; know who your competitors are, what stakeholder interests are about, who influences change in the industry, who is worth aspiring to be like.
- Become market ready before launch, don’t try launching prematurely, your customers will be upset and disappointed. Launch when you have things in place and are ready to start, you can grow other opportunities later.
- Give customers what they want, not what you think they want.
As mentioned previously, for me, growing a startup business is the most rewarding thing a business person can do. What makes it exceptionally special is when you grow a startup that has never been done before; that is challenging, it is addictive, it is fulfilling, it can only be shared with people who have done it before. This is where the real pleasure of organic business creation begins….
Written by Geoff Pike, Entrepreneur, Speaker & Business Mentor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoff-pike-australia
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ABOUT GEOFF
Geoff founded a sole trader plumbing business in a remotely located and vastly underpopulated location in outback Australia. Starting business with only enough money to pay 4 weeks wages, Geoff persisted by growing the business into a multi-disciplined trade services company. Over a period of 12 years, the company Geoff established grew to employ a workforce of over 300 personnel covering an area almost half the size of Europe, receiving international award recognition with an annual revenue of over $30mil. Geoff knows what it takes to overcome adversity.