Anyone is capable of coming up with a bright idea or two. But actually turning those ideas into products or services that will have a lasting impact is a far rarer skill. It’s fun to discuss ideas and thoughts, come up with funky designs and imagine how successful a particular product will be, but when it comes down to doing the nitty gritty of innovation, most people don’t get far. To ensure your ideas don’t just stay a product of your imagination, make sure you follow some of these tips.
Understand Risk and Reward
To truly innovate, you have to take a risk. The time, cost, and effort involved to turn an idea into a business reality is substantial, and you need a thorough understanding of what it will take. Underlying all of this risk, though, is cost. It’s vital that you have a realistic estimation of how much money it will take to realize your idea, and then weigh it up against the potential reward. If the sums go the wrong way, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.
Understand the Real World of Business
As we touched on in the intro, it takes a lot more than excellent ideas and creative thinking to bring your new product to the market. You will soon find that the minutiae of running an everyday business – such as building and managing a team – far outstrip the cool stuff – and the operations side of your enterprise has to take precedence if you are going to survive and thrive. There is a delicate balance involved, and tipping one way or the other can stunt your progress significantly.
Understand the Need for Prototypes
Prototypes are an essential part of the product creation process. And when you contact your local manufacturers to create one for you, it’s only the first part of the story. It is highly likely that you will go through multiple iterations before you get anything close to market ready. Test your prototypes with focus groups – or even friends and family.
Choose the Right Partners
Bringing a product to the market requires an enormous chain of people and organizations. We’ve mentioned manufacturers, of course, but you also need to be in contact with distributors, suppliers, marketers, and other small business owners. This part of the equation can take a long time, but try to avoid being impatient. Many great ideas have fallen by the wayside because the innovator has chosen the wrong type of partner – or been blinded by the cheapest option.
Be a Leader
Finally, if you want your product to see the light of day, it’s you that will have to push it – all the way. No one else is going to do it for you, and it is critical that you embrace your leadership with conviction. It can be tough, for sure – after all, you will be insanely busy, and there will never be enough hours in the day. But unless you lead from the front and can delegate responsibilities successfully, you will be dooming your project to failure.
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