Blueprint to Business

CHAPTER 2Getting Started

IS AN IDEA A BUSINESS?

When you're thinking about business, what are some of the first things that you really need to think about doing? If you want to start a business, how do you start? What exactly do you do? A lot of people have a lot of great ideas, and they say, “I have this great idea and this is what I want to do.” I had a guy come into my office one day and tell me that he had this amazing idea that he wanted to pitch to me. He set up an appointment to have me tell him what I thought about his business idea. He asked, “How many people sitting at their desk need to blow their nose? Or they need to wipe something?” I said, “A lot of people. That's what they have tissue dispensers for.” He said, “No, no. What I want to create is a tissue dispenser that looks just like the bathroom toilet paper dispensers, like a roll, and I want to put it on the desk.”

Now, I'm not one to rain on people's parades or be a dream stealer, but my first inclination, my gut feeling, was, “This is a ridiculous waste of time.” He was excited about it, though, so I started asking him questions. When you start thinking about business, one of the questions that you have to ask yourself is whether there is a market for your product and service. In other words, do people need it? Do people want it? Will people buy a toilet roll dispenser for their desk?

When we think about innovators in business, we often think of Steve Jobs, who was an innovator and a visionary. People use ...