It takes more than just an idea

Every day across the world there are billions of people who have an idea in the world. Many of us have the same idea and then months later we are watching TV or in the shops and boom - there it is called the SHAMWOW! or there we see that Dolphin massager we thought would be kitchy. And there are always opportunities to provide better and smarter services.
So what does it take to get an idea off the ground?

Well the first step is to write it down, scribble it on paper and everything in your head that is associated with it as soon as it comes to mind!

That is the best start of all, and one that is often overlooked.
Then comes what I call the Gestation period. During this time, you are going about your daily business and new ideas, more 'formed' ideas come to you uninvited. All you need to do here is find that same piece of paper or start on a new page (once you realise you threw the initial page out with the recycling) and add those further developed thoughts down.

How long is a gestation period? Well that can depend on an idea, how busy you are and whether it is a good one.

The role of Time in getting an idea to market. Well that depends on how you relate to time as a concept and your belief systems - and that sounds like I am avoiding the question but it is true. If you constantly hold a fear that someone will get there first (and you don't hold that perspective as a self motivator only) then unless you give your idea top priority I am sure your fear will come true. You will soon see your product/service offered and that belief will be reinforced.

During the gestation period ensure that you are working on the idea in your reality - on paper, making enquiries and getting to know the market.

Why ideas don't become realities.. There are a whole host of reasons why ideas don't become reality - and they all depend on the person who has the idea. You need to be motivated, whether it be an excitement about what that product/service could do for others, financial compensation or that the idea is pure genius. You may be motivated enough, but then get caught up in the 'how' question. If your ego becomes too enrolled and you are unwilling to accept that you may not need to know it all the idea will become stagnant. I love the truth that only we ever close ourselves off from 'source' and don't you know it that we do it all the time. Financial restrictions can also play a part, however with all of the money that exists in this world we live in I am sure if you were motivated enough, persistent enough and backed yourself enough the funding would be found.

So being flexible as the idea owner is important. What if someone suggested rather than an offline business that you could deliver the product to market at a lower cost online? If you personally aren't computer savvy you may really resist that concept and decide to go the more expensive route to discover that an offline delivery has so many attached overheads that your product is too overpriced? Be open to feedback, suggestions.

The main reason that an idea never gets off the page is that the idea owner isn't willing to make sacrifices to get it off the ground. If you are satisfied in your day to day job, and in a comfort zone the effort required to transition an idea into reality is simply too much. The motivation or incentive for having it developed isn't enough for the time or money investment.


Tips if you have an idea you want to get off the ground
- Be clear on your motivation
- Develop the idea and be open to feedback from others
- Have a loosely targeted timeframe for major milestones - for e.g idea developed, research conducted, prototype created, launched
- Accept that you do not have to know everything from start to finish about how to get a product or service delivered.