How To Grow Your Idea Into A Business (In 6 Steps)

Everyone has ideas. I get ideas by the dozen. When I’m brushing my teeth, when I’m going to work, when surfing the web. But here’s the truth: Ideas are just ideas until you nourish them. An idea is the seed of a successful business. Without proper care, it will not bloom.

To start your business, you need more than just an idea. 9 out of 10 first-time entrepreneurs fail and entrepreneurship is not as easy as it seems in movies.

Here is how you can navigate the murky waters and grow your idea into a business:

All successful companies, products, or services enhance the lives of their customers by eliminating a problem. I got fed up with seeing poorly designed promotional materials and launched one of Nigeria’s leading digital marketing firms, Epower. MTN decided to solve the communication problem in Africa years ago. Dangote wants to make building your next house less expensive with his cement. If you strongly dislike dirty environments, how about launching a recycling or waste collection business? Find that one problem that irritates you. There just might be a multinational hidden in your frustration.

You need to have a clear image of who your target market is. Is your product going to be needed by enough people? Don’t waste your time on an idea that does not cater to a large audience.

You have a solution, but it needs to be in front of the right people to be seen as such.

Ask yourself:

What problem do they have you can solve?

How much money do they have?

Where do they live?

How much education do they have?

What do they do for a living?

Are they single or do they have a family?

How much disposable income do they have?

Where and how will they use your product?

Keep note of what your competition do well and what could be improved — and voilà you’ve identified a gap for something new!

Your idea is absolutely worthless if you keep it to yourself and do not test it with actual customers.

Nothing beats an actual customer using your product or service. Build a minimum viable product or a prototype. The prototype could be a PowerPoint slide, a landing page or a product. Share this with your target market and see the response. If you get a poor response, you either kill the idea or improve on it. Feedback can save you money as well as help you make more money.

You cannot brand your product like pure water and expect it to sell like Bottled water. If you’re not branded, you’re stranded.

Expressing your story, from brand positioning to logo, colors and fonts requires a professional eye. Look like a best seller. My business card always gets people talking and it’s bringing in business because of its radical design and bespoke print. Get an affordable design & digital marketing agency like Epower to create your assets. Don’t do it yourself or ask your brother who just learnt CorelDraw to ‘do something’. Trust me on this, you can’t attract premium clients without premium branding.

Depending on the nature of your business, you may need start-up capital. Apply for grants like the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Program ($10,000) and several other competitions that give free money. You can also seek loans. Of course, you have to repay your debt, so tread with care. Nigeria’s bank of industry offers entrepreneurs an almost unbelievable 9% interest rate. Do you have some savings? You can put in your own money. And if you have a radical idea that can change the world or a business that can scale, get in touch with a venture capital firm for some serious cash.

It’s tempting to wait until your product is ‘perfect’ to start selling it. Instead, realize ‘perfect is the enemy of good enough’. Until your product is out in the market, you’re flying blind, spending time and money with a limited ability to learn how customers react. You have pulled through steps 1–5, you can’t catch cold feet now. Launch!

What’s holding you back?

Don’t have enough time? Sara Blakely had a full time job when She created Spanx. She is a billionaire today.

Don’t have enough money? Mike Adenuga was a cab driver in the UK. He saved money, returned to Nigeria and later launched Glo.

I’m not smart enough? Jack Ma was so dumb that if 6 people applied for a job and 5 people were needed, He would be the one without a job. Today, Jack is the founder of Alibaba and Asia’s richest man.

I’m too old, isn’t it too late to start? Colonel Sanders of KFC opened his first restaurant at age 40. We both know what became of KFC.

I’m too young, will people take me seriously? Opeyemi Awoyemi started Jobberman with some friends while He was just 21 and still in school.

To fulfill your expectations, fire your excuses.

Your idea can become a global business. Get started. Now.

Ogunbowale Olugbenga is a digital marketer and international Facebook trainer passionate about helping organizations reach their preferred target audience and improve their bottom-lines using graphics, web, social & search through his firm, Epower. He can be reached via gbengaogun@epower.ng