‘There is no such thing as a new idea. It’s impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope’ (Mark Twain). Yes, I did it. I started with a quote. Why the hell not! I love quotes. They’re condensed wisdom.
(Not so) breaking news: You do NOT need the perfectly disruptive-never seen before-most intelligent idea to start a business and make it a success.
Why am I saying this? Because if you’ve displayed signs of intelligence and been rewarded for how clever you are (in your career and/or otherwise)… you may want to start a business that sounds ‘smart’ and looks ‘smart’. Clever and disruptive is always sexy to pitch. You want the business to reflect your intellectual abilities.
And you can theoretically pull that off. But not only is this unnecessary, it is often a trap. And perhaps when it comes to idea generation, ‘easy does it’ works more than ‘rocket science or nothing’. Because what makes the difference is not the idea as much as how it fits (the market, you etc.) and the quality of the execution. This is where your smarts will help.
As my husband says: ‘Nobody ever thinks about the guy who started a metal scrapping company and became a millionaire’.
‘Incremental’ works, ‘Incremental’ is clever, ‘Incremental’ can be revolutionary: BLANC | Revolutionising Clothing Aftercare is an eco-friendly dry-cleaning business set up by ex-investment banker, Ludovic Blanc. muzmatch (set up by ex-Portfolio and Index Risk trader, Shahzad Younas) was designed for one specific community. It’s not like dating apps didn’t exist before. I have (so) many more examples of clever people who successfully used their smarts to think laterally rather than being disruptive at all cost.
HOW HAVE YOU BEEN APPROACHING BUSINESS IDEAS? HOW IS THIS HOLDING YOU BACK?
Need more ‘ideas’ on how to ‘generate ideas’? I designed a Venn diagram that I use with clients whenever they need to ‘process’ a project idea. They find it incredibly useful. Message me if you want a copy; I’m happy to email it to you and share the information I have collected so far.
#businessidea #businesscoaching #disruptive #cleverisnotenough #execution #muzmatch #BLANC #entrepreneurship #easydoesit
(initially published on LinkedIn)