By Justine Clay
As a small business owner, I’m well acquainted with the lure of a new idea. The brainstorming rush, the endless possibilities, the success, the glory….
See? Pretty seductive.
One of the benefits of having a small operation is you’re nimble enough to implement new ideas and change course as you need to. But ideas don’t make money – products and services do. While new ideas are a crucial component of your business, what’s more important is your ability to sift through them and make the good ones happen.
Granted, making ideas happen is a lot less fun – it becomes a real thing with real challenges that take time and energy to resolve. But sticking with the good ideas and creating something really worthwhile is what builds your business and creates loyal clients.
Here’s a tip on how to resist the lure of a new idea: remain conscious of what your core service or product is and measure all new ideas against it. Is there really a need, or are you getting off track? By all means, keep on dreaming up new ideas, but put them aside for a while and come back to them later. Chances are that, after a little time out, you won’t choose to pursue the majority of them.
I’d like to recommend 2 fantastic books that offer a fresh, no-nonsense approach to business, ideas and how to make the good ones happen. They are:
“ReWork” by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson http://37signals.com/rework/
“Making Ideas Happen” by Scott Belsky http://the99percent.com/book
If you’ve read them, or decide to, I’d love to hear your thoughts. justine@pitchperfectpresentation.com