You have got an excellent idea! The next Facebook, Amazon, or E-bay? It must have been hard to come up with it. So now you reap the rewards of nothing. An idea, no matter how good or bad, is nothing until put to the test. I can say that the idea of Facebook was mine, but you would laugh and close this tab right away! Even if I did think of it, Mark made it a reality. Rewards do come from action.
Recently I read a few posts about the concept of wantrepreneurship. In the open space of the Net there is even a definition of a wantrepreneur:
someone who thinks about being an entrepreneur or starting a business but never gets started.
Going deeper into the concept, some features start to appear. According to Entrepreneur the differentiation between an entrepreneur and a wantrepreneur is about passion, taking massive action and sacrifice. Others say it comes down to worrying over ideas, worrying about capital, procrastination, fear of failure and lifeless goals. Some even mention the team, perception of success, motivation behind money and the concept of learning forever.
We can go even further in depth but that is not the point. The conclusion: these are the basics of entrepreneurship itself. The curiosity behind this new idea (at least for me) has brought me back to starting a business. You constantly walk the line of no action/action, and believe me, it is very thin. At least this is the case of the beginning stages – idea stage. But no need to worry! Please follow my short SINGLE STEP GUIDE on how to stop being a wantrepreneur:
From Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur – A Single Step Guide
A question for you:
How long should you look into an idea before taking action?
What does look into mean? Any action towards research, learning, reading or any type of gathering information is part of this process. It is fully justified for you to take your time in inaction to properly do background research. But this can be an endless phase! Going through a lot of info in a short amount of time can have a toll on your mind. This is why you start to second guess you idea. You see a competitor which you did know existed, or a superior product, or even unforeseen regulatory framework and suddenly all you confidence is gone. But should it be? Of course not! Doing the research prepares you more for venturing and entrepreneurship always follows change. Be open to a bit of idea tweaking.
INACTION TIME FRAME
The SINGLE STEP GUIDE suggests the concept of INACTION TIME FRAME. It is the amount of time that you will willingly use up with no real action. As you read above, doing all the things to justify you idea is perfectly fine, but setting up an INACTION TIME FRAME is crucial for success. Before doing anything with any idea, predefine the amount of time you are willing to spent and FOLLOW it! In my experience it takes anywhere form 2 weeks to a month to do excellent preparation.
TIP 1: An excellent tool for the job is the Gantt Chart – a basic action plan, which you might have seen in sales plans. It looks like this:
The method does two things at the same time – uses pressure to push towards action and provides accountability for past actions. If you really want to achieve business success, one of the easiest ways to make yourself do things is to be under pressure. Creating an INACTION TIME FRAME does exactly that because it provides time boundaries. It constantly keeps you on the edge because it forces you to do things. The second important thing that makes this method successful is accountability. When developing a business idea most of the tasks are up to you, or a small team of people. If tasks are assigned to you/team than the outcome is directly and only related to performer of the task. Should something go wrong or be done better than expected, that person will be held accountable. Being accountable fights procrastination and free rider problems.
TIP 2: Setup clear actions and realistic time frames. Example: “research competition or “research legal framework” or “find and analyze substitute products”
The Leap
When is the actual leap from the inaction phase to the action phase? I always advise that the undertaking of these actions begins the process of creating a company:
- getting your hands dirty
- developing a product prototype and testing
- recruiting team members
- finding sources of capital
- pitching the product to as many people as possible
- negotiating contracts with vendors
- going to the market (rather than waiting for it to come)
Basically any action which leads to the implementation of the idea ends the inaction phase. This is the braking point between a wantrepreneur and an entrepreneur. Once you have gathered the courage and confidence to take the leap, the real fun begins!
Best of luck future Entrepreneurs!