This article is contributed by Jason Dirkham.
There’s much business advice out there. Some good, some bad. Some that makes you feel as though you can achieve anything, some that leaves you feeling overwhelmed and terrified of the challenge ahead of you. Some advice can save businesses from bankruptcy, some can lead them down an incorrect path.
But we can often forget that before all of those decisions, before all of that uncertainty or potential success – there comes an idea. An idea that can be marketed or transformed into something new. An idea that can gain traction and bring value to the marketplace of ideas.
But how do you know if your idea is worthwhile at all? How do you even begin that process? Often, it’s not enough for us to think it’s worthwhile, because it can be very easy to deceive ourselves. How have you tested it? How might you put it under stress? How might you make the most of it? But to begin with, how do you stay confident in what’s good, and discard the not-so-good?
Let us explore that below:
Rigorously Test Your Idea
It’s important that you don’t just latch onto the first idea you come across. Ideas shift, they change, and they develop for the better. Some are simply not practical. Just because an idea might be great for one thing – it might not be great for another. For example, a fantastic vacuum cleaner idea might be the most novel ever produced. It might completely clean a floor as well as remove debris. But if it cannot be designed in an ergonomic manner usable by the public you might market it to – it’s a half-idea, and needs serious revisions.
That’s why expert software workshops can provide an incredible conduit to help you test your idea. Not only subjecting the idea to rigorous testing, but also to try and consider how this can be developed using professional guides and those who are able to contextualize its value is essential. If you can do this, and it still withstands both helpful and critical treatment – you might have something worthwhile on your hands. But it’s important to test this routinely, and to never simply expect something is worthwhile because you wish it to be.
See If There’s Anything Similar
When you have an idea for something, odds are something similar might have come to someone beforehand. For example, you might wish to run a very particular kind of restaurant. Novelty restaurants are popping up all over the world, and so you might wish to continue that trend. But you might think your idea is a little ‘out-there.’ Can you find anything similar? Perhaps there’s a functioning restaurant like this in another country, or perhaps there was once a historical eatery that had much the same novelty you can draw inspiration from.
Now while a similar product or service might not necessarily show you that your idea is a good one, it can show you if it’s marketable or not, and if people might be willing to go with you for the right as you suss out your ideal. It’s important to be informed, and this effort should give you that in droves
Try To Explain It
Remember, it’s important to keep ideas you feel valuable quiet until you have some kind of verified patent ensuring that it cannot be used by anyone else. However, find some you deeply trust, perhaps a friend or family member. Explain it to them.
Odds are, if you can’t explain your idea within one or two simple sentences, it’s not a great idea. Of course, this might depend on who you hope to market it to. If it’s an algorithm dedicated to helping simplify a very complex programming process, then it’s not as if your Grandma is going to fully grasp what you mean. Speak to those you might hope to market it to. For example, an old colleague you absolutely trust completely – or someone similar. See if you can explain it simply. If you have to spend ten minutes talking about it just to get to the root – there’s a chance that you need to refine and explain what the idea actually is.
It Might Not Be Final
Just like a novelist thinking of a story, an idea or premise is not the final version. It needs to be mulled over, thought about, and perhaps even sat on for some time. If it sticks with you and continually stays interesting to you – there’s a chance that there’s something worthwhile there.
With these tips, we hope you’re better able to test and care for your ideas.
This article is contributed by Jason Dirkham.
