Bright Business Idea? Stop Thinking And Start Doing!

"Hey, wouldn't it be cool if..."

We've all been there and I can personally count on both hands how many times I've started a sentence with that phrase. As fellow leaders in small business, you know what I'm talking about. Those times when that small seed of an idea becomes implanted in your mind and the wheels start turning towards "that next great idea." But for many of us, those wheels often stop as quickly as they started.

Jenn Houser recently shared with Inc. Magazine "5 Ways to Stop Dreaming and Start Building Your New Business Now." Jenn Houser is a serial entrepreneur and start-up adviser, who together with David Ronick partnered with Inc. to create Upstart Bootcamp@Inc., a program that guides entrepreneurs to start up smarter.

Here are her pointers to "get you building your business now:"


1. Take a step, any step. One of the things that makes starting so hard is that there's so much to do. It's overwhelming. So just pick something—anything—and do it. You'll feel good getting a task done and then be encouraged to take on another one. Before you know it, you're on your way. I usually start with something I like to do, and can get done in one sitting. For example, since I'm a product person, I will write a quick description of what the product offering will be. Then I'll add who will buy it and why. I won't sweat it if it's not perfect (see the next point) because I can change it later. Now I feel pretty darn good because I got started.

2. Keep it simple and forget perfect. Jason Fried of 37signals, a Chicago web company, says this best: "If you're opening a hot dog stand, you could worry about the condiments, the cart, the name, the decoration. But the first thing you should worry about is the hot dog. The hot dogs are the epicenter. Everything else is secondary." Figure out what your hot dog is, hold the (perfect) trimmings for later and you'll find starting gets much simpler.

3. Don't reinvent the wheel. There is no need to build something from scratch that you can rent, lease, or (better yet) use for no or low cost. For example, when you are building your website, consider using Wordpress or Blogger rather than having a custom-coded website built. The "off the shelf" tools are much cheaper, faster, and easier to use while you're learning what is needed for your business.

4. Tell people you're starting. Some founders assume they shouldn't tell anyone what they're doing because someone could steal their idea. But in my experience, the benefits far outweigh the risks. First, nothing makes a business "real" faster for me than telling the people in my life that I'm starting it. Second, a curious thing happens when you tell people about your business. They ask questions and offer ideas. They make introductions and identify the competition. And, by knowing, they can support you (emotionally and otherwise) as you're doing this incredibly rewarding but hard thing.

5. Tell people what you need. Immediately after you share with someone what you're doing, you should also identify for them what you need right now. This makes their help even more helpful. For example, if you are a technologist who really needs an online marketing expert to help you run the business, tell that to everyone you meet. Your contacts may not know the right person but someone else they know might. You'll be surprised what a small world it is that way.

You can read the full article in Inc. Magazine here.

To learn more about business planning, take UpStart's on-demand course.