(65b) The Reality is that Noble is a Wonderful Business Concept but Not a Sustainable Product

Starting a small business is for many an irresistible challenge.  Many think that the first thing needed is picking a Name for the new company.  At the kick off meeting, exuberance and ideas are exchanged but not one presented Name quite “fits”.   A pragmatist in the group tells the charged up group that maybe we can’t agree on a Company Name is because we don’t have a product or market defined yet.  It might be best to wait on the name that will come once a product or even market is agreed to.  Someone stands up and in all seriousness declares, “Yes we have a business!  The core theme of our business will be the usage of innovative technologies in order to have a positive impact on our world.”  Sounds exciting, fulfilling, rewarding, doesn’t it? They all agree this is it! The pragmatist obviously sees the glass as half empty, not half full.  They all sit admiring themselves as they now have a mission and vision statement all figured out.  The reality after this is that financing is needed, which means a product and a sound business plan. The excited entrepreneurs go investor to investor; traversing the financial world to find only a few that will give them a couple of their minutes of their time.

Anyone that has been through this and actually succeeded later will have compassion for your current quest and genuinely listen.  After your excited elevator pitch the successful business person, entrepreneur, will in all sincerity and concern inform you the idea is a bit too broad although definitely a noble idea but will ask you to comeback when you have a more defined business plan and product.    This is the place most new businesses come to a grinding halt as discouragement and reality set in.  Many will go back and continue their day jobs discouraged they cannot be entrepreneurs.  So what went wrong?  What did they not do?  This session will cover some of the cases and paths forward to starting a business, but will not give you the magic formula to assure your success in starting one.