Entrepreneurship; a Journey Into the Unknown. Or is it?

Sometimes a business idea might pop up out of the blue and take you into the entrepreneurship journey.

And then what? You just go for it and hope for the best? Well, that works too, and has you jumping through the loops as you go.

Another way would be to identify the idea's potential and measure it against the market with the intention of identifying market leaders and their strengths and weaknesses, along with consumer needs and habits.

Let's look at this process more carefully.

Table of contents

1. Idea brainstorming

   - Subconsciously

   - Consciously

2. Analysing phase

3. Planning phase

4. Testing phase

   - Theoretical

   - Practical

5. Execution phase

6. Key elements of an enterprise

   - The mission

   - Vision

   - Standard

   - Training

   - Compliance

   - Hiring process

   - Performance review and feedback

   - Recognition

   - Problem resolution

   - Succession planning

   - Culture

Idea brainstorming

We will go through this process intentionally and consciously, or subconsciously.

Subconsciously, we have identified the opportunity either by necessity or pleasure. Perhaps we are in a line of work where we meet other people and expose ourselves to different products and services. This might provide a platform for the eureka moment where the idea just presents itself as a result of a brainstorming process related to some other challenge or a previous experience.

For example, you might be working for a company where the scheduling process is tedious and complicated due to the number of employees, equipment, and working areas that need to be synchronized, with a change being a rule and not an exception. During this process, you could have a moment of clarity and identify patterns that, once placed under control, help with the process and minimize mistakes. This then triggers you, and you recall a program that you might have used in the past, which gives you an idea of how to tackle this challenge. So, you have subconsciously and unintentionally come up with a potential solution and an opportunity for a business endeavor.

On the other hand, an intentional and conscious approach would be to analyze the challenge and dissect it to discover patterns and alleys of approaches to identify potential solutions. You then explore the market offerings, looking for the products that can inspire you. You then identify several ways to tackle the challenge and work on discovering if the same has been marketed. If it has, you engage in the process of analyzing those products and the size of the market they have covered. You might discover an opportunity for engagement, or it might take you in another direction and discover an angle that has not been explored yet.

Either way, you have discovered an opportunity that is taking you on the path of entrepreneurship.

Analysing phase

So, you have decided that your idea is worth pursuing, and you are engaging in its realization. This is where you should stick more to the intentional and conscious rather than unconscious process, as wishful thinking will have you living in the projection of reality that will quickly bring you back to earth once it collides with the actual reality.

You need to envision the final product and work backward to the initial phase. Sort of like reverse engineering. Now, the final product still lives in your head, so you will need to put it on paper to be able to track the process of bringing it to life.

Once the final product is envisioned, you look into the elements it consists of and how important each element is. Now, you got it deciphered, and you can compare it to similar products to get an insight into their specifics that clearly works for them. There is no need to reinvent the wheel; you just need to understand what drives their success and board the train.

Look at their approach to satisfying certain needs and how they resolve selected challenges with their product.

This will give you an idea of what needs to be done to get you to the final product.

Planning phase

This process can begin during the analyzing phase, or it could be a continuum towards the testing and execution phases.

You have obviously identified a potential avenue of approach in bringing your idea to life and have discovered elements that need to come together to achieve it.

This could consist of materials, processes, protocols, equipment, finances, marketing approach, and people with the required know-how.

And you are all set now because you have a plan. Or are you?

No, you are not if you haven't understood that this process is deeply connected with both the analyzing and testing phases and will be deeply affected by the execution phase. Don't lock yourself into thinking the planning phase is the most important one and the one to steer this project. It is the ability to stay focused on the final product in line with market trends and consumer needs that is driving your success and not the perfect plan. As Mike Tyson famously said, "Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth."

So, you need to adopt your plan and your process as you go and don't allow to get punched in the mouth during the process.

Testing phase

This is an important part of the process, which could be practical and theoretical or both. I would advise both, if applicable depending on the industry, as it will allow for a deeper understanding of the market trends and consumer needs.

Theoretical consists of exposing your envisioned final product to the current market trends. This then allows you to get an idea of how your product would perform if it were launched at that moment. It also allows us to compare it to future anticipated market trends based on the data collected.

So, how do we do this? By doing market research and speaking with professionals within the industry. It will provide you with data supporting or conflicting with your expectations, which will, either way, be valuable information directing you back to the planning phase or to the execution.

Practical consists of testing the actual product (demo) on the current market. I would advise doing this with professionals from the industry to be able to understand the reasons behind the initial success or failure after initial exposure to the market. This way you will be able to collect and understand the signals directing you in the direction of success.

Let's say you have envisioned a mobile application that will help a targeted group of consumers with their job search. The theoretical testing would be scanning the web for the same or similar product and engaging with app developers and final consumers via chat groups or social media. Practical testing would be to develop a demo (beta) app and release it to be tested by professionals and final consumers.

Obviously, practical testing involves expenses and requires time and financial resources to complete, so theoretical testing is a must before this takes place to avoid testing a product that is already identified as redundant.

Execution phase

And here you are. No turning back now. Or is there?

As we said, you need to maintain an open mindset and not lock yourself into the original idea while twisting reality to fit it.

You enroll your product and measure performance data, or KPIs - key performance indicators - which will tell you in which direction you need to go. Is it back to the drawing board, or a new approach in marketing strategy might cover it?

This phase requires determination, trust, perseverance, dedication, and a leap of faith, as not everything is in our hands even when we dot the i's and cross the t's.

It makes us continue to revert back to previous phases to adjust to market shifts and our consumer needs. We need to follow and understand the dynamics of the market and our consumer habits to be able to address it, even if it means changing our product. If we don't, we are putting our product at risk of failure.

Now that we are in business, we need to consider the steps to maintain the set direction and achieve the desired success. To do this, we need to understand the necessary elements that every enterprise needs to have.

Key elements of an enterprise

The mission is the reason the enterprise exists. Obviously, monetary gain is the goal, but it should not be the only goal for the company. We need to understand that entrepreneurship should serve society and make a positive impact.

Vision is a discipline consisting of steps we plan to take to get the company to the desired level of success in line with the set mission.

Standard is a list of processes and procedures that maintain the level of success by producing the best product in line with the company's mission and vision.

Training is essential not only to our employees but also to ourselves, as we need to grow and evolve to be able to maintain the set standard in line with our company mission.

Compliance is an essential part of the company, which keeps everyone in line with the set standard in support of the company's mission. It minimizes the possibility of personal beliefs and habits diluting the set standard and taking the company away from its mission.

The hiring process is a very important part of the operation, which brings new employees with the required background and experience that will complement the company's mission and vision in line with the set standard.

Performance review and feedback is a critical process of providing objective information to our employees about their performance and alignment with company standards, mission, and vision.

Recognition is a critical tool in maintaining high performance and employee satisfaction. It serves as an acknowledgment of exceptional delivery and approach to their respectful position within the company.

Problem resolution is a process that cannot be ignored as it prevents animosity and disconnect from the team and the company's mission and vision.

Succession planning is crucial process in allowing for personal development and progression in line with the company's mission and vision.

Culture is a testimony to the elements of a company that are mentioned above, as the positive culture that embraces different opinions and ideas, allows for brainstorming and discussion, drives the company and its employees to success while preserving their dignity and identity.

Every enterprise needs to stay in line with market trends and consumer needs. To achieve this, ingenuity and idea exchange need to be embedded in the company culture.

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