Episode 1 - Getting Your Business Idea Off The Ground: a 4 Part Series
Part 1 ? Mind Mapping
When we were thinking of the first episode for our SME Biz TV show, we thought about what entrepreneurs and companies go through in their first steps of creating a new business or business idea. And we figured, sitting there thinking of what to do first, that everything starts from an idea. And the idea for the first episode, which is creating the idea to Get Your Business Idea Off the Ground, was obvious.
But the process of starting a new SME or new business venture actually involves a lot of effort and careful planning. Hence we decided to have our SME Biz TV show start as a 4 Part Series. From this episode forward, we discuss such topics as;
- Mind Mapping to expose your idea and allow your creative mind to extract each and every element of your idea for your eyes to see more clearly
- Business Plan Writing and Strategizing to make sure your new business idea is viable and needed in today?s marketplace, whether you have the necessary finances to get your business to start, analysis of everything in your market including competitors and demographics, etc.
- Business Coaching and Mentoring to get the guidance you need and allow objective minds to ask you questions about your idea that you may not see
- Marketing Strategies that work for your business and niche, along with what new tools and tactics are currently successfully employed within your market
As business coaches ourselves, we are regularly approached by entrepreneurs with seemingly great new business ideas. But it?s our job to help them explore their idea and make sure they have thought things through before committing their time and resources to it. We take an obvious, yet often overlooked process of asking the simplest questions to get the most revealing answers: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How.
We believe the first question anyone should ask themselves is, ?Why do I want to start this business??
In our experience, some of the most common reasons are that people want to make more money than what they earn at a job, they may be tired of working in a company or in a position they don?t find rewarding anymore, or perhaps they have always dreamed of something and been passionate about it like a chef wanting to start a restaurant or artist going online to start their own art selling website.
However, an inevitable pitfall is that entrepreneurs focus their ?Why? on making money, and make the procurement of money their primary objective. The reason why we believe this causes most businesses to fail in their first year is because, making money is an inevitable outcome of running a successful business whose approach comes from passion for quality service and products. Focus on what you?re great at, and money will always find its way to you.
When SME?s ask the next question, we believe that you should automatically look to your passion in life. The question, ?What service/product should I offer as a business?? is essential for the obvious reason that it will define what you do and focus on for the next few years of your life.
Some people are actually good at producing or providing services that they are not necessarily passionate about yet are great at producing. We would ask you then whether this business life is for you, something beneficial to people that you can enjoy doing and yet not be married to.
There comes a time in your business planning and idea generation that you need to ask yourself, ?When should I start this business?? Some believe that timing is everything, and for an SME or entrepreneurship, it can be the difference between success and failure.
This question can have many varying answers because you will need to consider many factors such as your physical location and its marketplace, local/global market trends, market saturation and ease of penetration, global economic conditions which affect buying patterns, and various other factors. But be warned that if you over think and try to assess every risk, you may never actually get your idea off the ground. We suggest you learn about your market, and take actions along the way.
A major consideration when starting an SME is whether you will go it alone or have others involved in the business with you. Our main suggestion here is to take on a business coach, even if you?re not alone. Business coaches are excellent sources of information and a great way to rebound your idea off an objective mind. These are usually people who have a successful track record of actually helping start and grow other SME?s.
Elin and Taner started to work together and structured their company as a married partnership because they were complimentary in their skills. Elin looks after the web development and online marketing part of the business and Taner is the Brand Maker, Marketing Strategist, and Market Penetration Specialist. As public speakers, they once again complement each other?s skills on stage.
When considering where to start an SME, it depends on the type of business service you start. Online or Web-based businesses can be started from anywhere, as so many SME?s get started from basements and coffee shops around the world. Bricks and mortar businesses need better planning because they usually involve a financial risk component such as office space, or renting space for a spa, or licensing for restaurants, etc. So consider the physical location, human and road traffic, access to public transport, and supply chain or transport facilities.
An Afterthought: if you see the internet or web-sphere as land, then you can treat web domains as real estate, and search engines as listing and mapping companies. In a later episode, we discuss and reveal the secrets of effective Search Engine Optimization and domain name buying.
Finally, and the part everyone asks about is, ?How do I get my business idea off the ground?? Although a business coach is extremely effective here, we find that the best thing to do first is to create a visual representation of what you think every element in your new business will be. And the best way to do this is to create a Mind Map.
Mind Mapping is similar to brainstorming on paper, and effectively uses your right brain (creative thinker), and your left brain (the analytical mind). Getting a complete overview of your business is essential to qualify the business and avoid unnecessary pitfalls. Mind Mapping can also lay out proper benchmarks and goals to help guide you in your early decision-making process.
SME?s and entrepreneurs often run into immediate hurdles because they haven?t mind mapped their business idea. Creating an effective mind map, which outlines all the necessary steps, elements, and benchmarks the business must consider will guarantee early success.
Did you like our Fast Forwarded Mind Maps? If you ever need help creating a mind map either on paper or through mind mapping software, please send us a message and we would love to help you: Send Us A Message Now!
The SME Biz TV Lindt Moment
In this week?s SME Biz Lindt Moment, we assess and rate one of the world?s most popular and well-known mind mapping tools called iMindMap, created by Tony Buzan.
Yes there are many mind mapping tools on the market, some free and others with membership fees. However, the one we use and love is iMindMap. Check out why we love using the iMindMap so much.
Benefits of Using iMindMap
- It enlists the full power of your brain utilizing both the right side (creative, sense of wholeness, awareness, imagination, day-dreaming, colourful) and left side (analytical, logical).
- Completely visualizing your thoughts and transferring them to a visual aid (paper, white-board, flip chart, etc.).
- Planning an overview of your SME to you can clearly see benchmarks or pitfalls and risks.
- Unlimited brainstorming because it lets you get as creative as you want with your idea and avoids getting side tracked with all the clutter which regularly clouds our minds such as world news, social media, the job, friends, the embarrassing thing you did at the bar the other night, etc.
The ?How-To? of Mind Mapping
We simplify our description to the 4 Major Steps to creating an effective mind map:
- Determine your central concept and draw it in a circle in the middle.
- Create the basic structure for organizing your ideas. These become the main branches that span from your central concept and are known as Basic Organizing Ideas, represented by ?branches? that radiate outward from the central concept.
- Place keywords that are associated (even remotely) with the Basic Organization Ideas. These are smaller branches of ideas which stem from the main idea.
- Always revisit your mind map to put things in order and number the branches. Perhaps do this on a separate mind map.
The SME Biz TV Lindt Rating
We decided to both give Tony Buzan?s iMindMap a rating of 4 Lindor Balls out of 5. Here is why:
- Price: affordable packages of $99-$249 one-time fee with paid upgrade, but there is a free trial in case you want to Try-Before-You-Buy.
- Functionality: loaded with features, Version 6 has 3D features making it better for presentations, multi-selects, flowcharts, box branch shapes, map snipping, sketching, and more.
- Ease of Use: extremely easy to start using right out of the box.
- Training & Support: available in live training session around the world by registered experts, online support (paid ? this is thumbs down from both of us), and blogs
We hope you enjoyed the show. See you next week on another episode of SME Biz TV!
Elin & Taner Kilicarslan
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