A Word About Ideas

I’m getting lots of comments like:  “I think I have a great idea for a new business.”  Wonderful!  When it comes to entrepreneurial ideas, though, there is some good news and some bad news.  The bad news is that most ideas, at least when people first begin to work on them, really aren’t all that good.  The good news is that the path from a “not very good” idea to a great idea is often just some tweaking.  The even better news is that going through the process of developing a business plan and getting feedback from others is the fastest (and least expensive) way to evaluate an idea from many aspects and then tweak the idea into a genuine, first-rate opportunity.  That’s exactly what entering IdeaWF can do for you. I met last week for about an hour with a probable IdeaWF entrant.  I think she has an idea with lots of potential.  Even though she has a lot of professional expertise in the type of business she’s developing, as we went through the business plan discussion I asked several questions that I think focused her on what was truly innovative about her idea and challenged some of her assumptions about what it would take for the business to thrive.  She thought it was a valuable session and left to tweak her idea.  Part of IdeaWF’s intent is to form a community of people that want to talk about new ideas and help others (and themselves) succeed.  Please become a part of that community.  The next orientation session for IdeaWF is tomorrow, September 8^th at 10 AM and 7 PM at the Dillard College of Business building (Room 189).  Hope to see you there!