6 Steps To Start Up
For years the students I mentor have asked me to start a blog and share real advice and tips on starting a new venture, so here are my SIX simple steps that anyone can do to start a new business with the right attitude.
1. The Idea
How do you get a good idea? Most people think its sitting on a hammock, relaxing on an island or legs crossed in a quiet room meditating. Now both those things will definitely relax and de-stress you, but in reality great ideas come about from your everyday life. Did you have a long wait in queue at the coffee shop this morning and thought “there’s got to be a quicker way to order a coffee?” or you rode into work thinking how can we create an app that would incentivise people to ride to work? Ideas come about because we feel we can provide a better product or service or simply just want to make life easier for ourselves and the community. So have a think about your next daily commute to work – are there any ideas there to start a new venture?
2. Passion/Belief
So you now have an idea. You have just had a light bulb moment and you are guarding it like a precious stone. Well guess what – everyone has ideas. In fact the idea only equates to about 1% of the venture, the rest is perspiration and effort! The success or failure of a good idea lies in its execution; by how much its founders believe and are passionate about it. In the early stages of a start-up, all you will have is your belief and passion. It will get you up in the morning; drive you from meeting to meeting even though you keep getting knocked back. This is a very important step in starting a new venture. Believe in your idea and others will too!
3. Research
You’re now getting stuck right into your idea by this stage. It all started out as an idea, but now comes the real test of bouncing your idea off people and asking for validation. I simply tell students to do the ‘100 person test’, which is survey 100 people (they can be family/friends/associates) and see how many validate your idea. Anything over 70% in my opinion is enough to take your idea to the next level. In this step, it also involves looking at competitors in your industry and selecting your target market that will buy or use your product. By the end of this step you would have increased in confidence and become quite the story teller!
4. Risk
Great, you’re past the halfway point now. At this stage, it’s about self-assessment – You! It’s time you look at the risk involved in getting your venture off the ground. What are the obstacles that are going to prevent you from starting this new venture? Do you have a mortgage debt you need to pay each month, a circle of friends that don’t support your new found venture? It’s time to think about those things that are going to hold you back. Most aspiring entrepreneurs forget this important step as they are blurred by the youthful enthusiasm of jumping straight into a new venture. So make a list of things that you need to re-risk or be mindful of before you take your idea to the next stage.
5. Product
You’re now ready to build your product. In the start-up world it’s called MVP (Minimal Viable Product). This is really your prototype that you can begin testing with a sample market that will buy, download or sign up. It’s a great litmus test of how the market receives the product but also an opportunity to iron out the bugs and fix and problems. Remember you will never have a perfect product! This stage is all about building a good enough product to get to market to use.
6. Market
It’s now time to get the product out the door to the market. It’s always good to launch your new product/service in a small market that will be under the radar and allow you to go unnoticed if something goes wrong or you need to go back to the drawing board and re-launch. Young start-ups usually want to go big quickly and become the next Facebook or Instagram. Truth is those start-ups were not an overnight success and grew organically before they exploded. Remember to build a business that is sustainable and can grow without huge cash injections or venture capital.
1. The Idea
How do you get a good idea? Most people think its sitting on a hammock, relaxing on an island or legs crossed in a quiet room meditating. Now both those things will definitely relax and de-stress you, but in reality great ideas come about from your everyday life. Did you have a long wait in queue at the coffee shop this morning and thought “there’s got to be a quicker way to order a coffee?” or you rode into work thinking how can we create an app that would incentivise people to ride to work? Ideas come about because we feel we can provide a better product or service or simply just want to make life easier for ourselves and the community. So have a think about your next daily commute to work – are there any ideas there to start a new venture?
2. Passion/Belief
So you now have an idea. You have just had a light bulb moment and you are guarding it like a precious stone. Well guess what – everyone has ideas. In fact the idea only equates to about 1% of the venture, the rest is perspiration and effort! The success or failure of a good idea lies in its execution; by how much its founders believe and are passionate about it. In the early stages of a start-up, all you will have is your belief and passion. It will get you up in the morning; drive you from meeting to meeting even though you keep getting knocked back. This is a very important step in starting a new venture. Believe in your idea and others will too!
3. Research
You’re now getting stuck right into your idea by this stage. It all started out as an idea, but now comes the real test of bouncing your idea off people and asking for validation. I simply tell students to do the ‘100 person test’, which is survey 100 people (they can be family/friends/associates) and see how many validate your idea. Anything over 70% in my opinion is enough to take your idea to the next level. In this step, it also involves looking at competitors in your industry and selecting your target market that will buy or use your product. By the end of this step you would have increased in confidence and become quite the story teller!
4. Risk
Great, you’re past the halfway point now. At this stage, it’s about self-assessment – You! It’s time you look at the risk involved in getting your venture off the ground. What are the obstacles that are going to prevent you from starting this new venture? Do you have a mortgage debt you need to pay each month, a circle of friends that don’t support your new found venture? It’s time to think about those things that are going to hold you back. Most aspiring entrepreneurs forget this important step as they are blurred by the youthful enthusiasm of jumping straight into a new venture. So make a list of things that you need to re-risk or be mindful of before you take your idea to the next stage.
5. Product
You’re now ready to build your product. In the start-up world it’s called MVP (Minimal Viable Product). This is really your prototype that you can begin testing with a sample market that will buy, download or sign up. It’s a great litmus test of how the market receives the product but also an opportunity to iron out the bugs and fix and problems. Remember you will never have a perfect product! This stage is all about building a good enough product to get to market to use.
6. Market
It’s now time to get the product out the door to the market. It’s always good to launch your new product/service in a small market that will be under the radar and allow you to go unnoticed if something goes wrong or you need to go back to the drawing board and re-launch. Young start-ups usually want to go big quickly and become the next Facebook or Instagram. Truth is those start-ups were not an overnight success and grew organically before they exploded. Remember to build a business that is sustainable and can grow without huge cash injections or venture capital.
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