Choosing the Right Ideas and Making Amazing Things Happen

The common belief is that adding new things to your business is the way to generate greater profit and value. I do not agree with this for a simple reason. The more you are doing, the less focused you are on anything.

In an ideal world, every new idea or innovation you could concieve, could become a great and powerful reality. In the real world (whatever that means) you have strong limits to what can be accomplished. There are concerns of money, people, technology, resources, and that all-powerful thing called Time.

You cannot build as fast as ideas flow so it is imperative to keep a strong focus on what the most important things are. You need to weed out the lesser and focus all your energy (or most of it) on the greater. Here are some things to consider.

How will it effect my current business? A lot of ideas are great but if it is going to divert your attention from what you are already passionate about, it may not be worth it. The answer to this question may not be a reason to disregard the idea but it is important to consider if it is worth losing what you are currently doing.

Am I willing to devote myself? No idea really makes it when it is created half-ass (besides MySpace) so you need to really be willing to make it a large part of your life to make it work. If you have any thought that you will not want to devote yourself then it is not the venture for you.  

Is there a market for it? Some say there is a market for anything. Okay. Valid point but a market is not measured in whether it exists or not. It is measured in the size of it and the demand. Someone will like it. But will that be enough?

What is the Profit Potential? Anyone who has read a few articles on this blog knows that I am not an advocate of going into business to make money but for a venture to grow and for tiers of success to be reached, a good income is important.

What will I need to do it? Not every venture can be started with a laptop and a dream. Most will need things like technologies, space, and most importantly the human element.

How Much will It Cost? When you figure out what you will need then you can factor out how much it will cost. Take whatever figure you get from the question above and double it. Trust me, you won’t see half the bullets flying at your head. Be Prepared. If the costs outweigh the profit potential and work involved then it is not going to be worth it.

Will it Change the World? Ah, the essence of a great idea. When you are considering if your amazing, great, terrific idea is really all those things, you must consider this question above all. Changing the world does not have to litterally mean effecting every person on Earth but it means making a big enough impact to make ripples. If it’s not going to improve something in the world, then why do it?

Photo by Murtaza Bravo