If you’re a budding entrepreneur, you probably have a lot of ideas floating around in your head. That’s a great start – after all, nothing would exist if someone didn’t first have a great idea and imagine it becoming reality. It’s not enough though: in order to make your dream happen, you need to consider how to bring that idea into the real world. Where would Mark Shuttleworth be if he hadn’t made a plan to create Thawte?
If you’re part of a forum like the High School Entrepreneur’s Society, talking with other young entrepreneurs about ways to do it is incredibly inspiring.
Whether you’re doing it in a group or on your own, here’s where to start:
Capture the ideas
You’ve probably had loads of great ideas that you’ve already forgotten about. Imagine if you wrote them down as soon as you had them. Would that give you a great “bank” of ideas you could pull from, and possibly even pull together into a project? Consider keeping a small notebook and pen on hand, or creating a space on your device for your ideas.
Weed them out
Regularly go through your list of ideas and consider which one or two might be most viable for now. That’s not to say you should throw out the others – just decide where you’re going to put your energy right now. Otherwise you may end up so scattered that nothing actually gets done.
Plan
Sometimes it’s possible to think the whole process through, and draw up a detailed project plan. Other times, only the next step might be obvious, and that could be something as simple as “Investigate what’s already out there that is similar to my idea” or “Find out what would be needed to…”. If you don’t have at least a next step (preferably written down), your idea will be stalled until you do.
Get support
If you’re someone who’s a visionary but not great at detail, you might consider partnering up with someone else who is detail-oriented. Brainstorm together then allocate tasks that suit your individual personality types and skills. Pooling your complementary skill sets will take you much further than either of you trying to go it alone.
If your school doesn’t already have an Entrepreneurs Society, speak to your teacher or head about starting one. It will also give you access to a bunch of other resources to support you in making your dream a reality. You (and they) can find out more here.
