Every one of us has that “aha” moment once in a while. You know, when you get so excited over an idea that you feel like that lightbulb above your head is about to explode!
Your heart is pumping hard, you can’t even focus, and all you can think of is that idea. But, how do we know that this is the one?
How do we know if this is the one that will work? The one that will give us the financial rewards? The one that gives us the personal satisfaction? That it is not, in fact, the one that’ll wipe out your saving, that will break a marriage and give you a heart attack?
Before we start jumping into the great idea journey, check if your idea passes the checklist below:
It Refuses To Die
Before you start, list out all the things that may make your idea seem like a bad one and then run through them one by one to see if it will survive the test. The more challenges and questions you put your ideas through, the more resilient it will become.
If the idea manages to stand tall after this test, congratulations!
You are potentially staring at a billion dollar idea in your hand. Also, share it with your friends and families and get as much feedback as possible to make the idea stronger.
Passion
If you are pursuing this idea solely for money, please stop right now. Of course, you might make a good start of it, but let me tell you this: It won’t last.
You need to be passionate about it. You must believe in it so much so that you are even willing to work for free to see the idea take wings. You need it to pass through the dark times in the journey of entrepreneurship.
Simplicity
Every great idea starts with something simple. It addresses one problem, with one product for one type of customer.
Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook to help his college-mates to keep in touch with each other. He had no idea how big his idea would grow to be. The simplicity and clarity of the idea made millions of people use it every day.
Original Secret Sauce
The idea must be original and better than the existing solution. At least it must be new to the market that you are entering.
Customers can smell a fake or “wannabe” from far away, and they would absolutely hate it. This is how Coca-Cola has managed to stand tall through the years. Pepsi has been trying to overtake Coca-Cola with its lavish marketing spending but has not really succeeded. To this day, the complete ingredients for Coca-Cola remains intact, a secret.
Meet Your Customers’ Need
The single most important reason your business exists is that it is able to address the customers’ needs. Think about the one single reason your business exists.
If you don’t have one, you are merely shooting in the dark hoping to hit the target. This directionless effort will drain your resources, and you might be heading for failure. This holds true even if your goal is just flipping burgers. It will drain your resources, and you will be heading towards failure.
Kaw-Kaw Burger, for example, has a great understanding of their customers’ wants. They found the sweet spot of local palatte that makes their customers line up for hours for their burgers.
Sufficiently Large Market
Whether you’re making sales worth RM1mil or RM10,000, you expand a similar amount of effort and resources.
You still need to advertise your service, call for appointment, meet up with your client, negotiate the deal and secure the sales. If the market you are providing the solution for is too small, create this solution in the first place. Your journey to the top would be a long and painful one.
One Revenue Stream
You just need one great idea, at least in the infant stage. It allows the team to focus and take full advantage of its potentials.
It is a huge challenge for a startup to prioritise its resources when the resources available is meagre. French bakers know this concept very well. They only bake a few types of bread but they make sure to do it very well. People say that there are no bad ideas, just bad decisions. I’d say that’s true – it’s the combination of great ideas and good decisions that makes it work.
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