I Have An Idea, Now What?

Getting Started Idea Generation

I have an idea, now what?

How many times have you thought to yourself, wow this would be such a great business idea? Fast forward a few months and nothing, nada, zilch? Yeah, we’ve been there before and know what it’s like. You begin to kick yourself over taking no action and ultimately start to question yourself. We all have these “brilliant” ideas but they don’t mean anything without execution. So how do we take that first step?

Don't Be Afraid of Rejection

A lot of times we don’t start because we’re afraid of rejection. We don’t want others to judge us, view of us differently, or even worse consider us as “losers” or “frauds” if our idea sucks. But the reality is, a rejection of your idea isn’t a rejection of you as a person. We start to run into some serious trouble the second we start to mix the two together. Because after all, the ideas came from us, right? Wrong.

Remember, a rejection of your idea is simply a difference in opinions and the person you’re pitching to is allowed to have their own opinion. Just because your idea doesn’t fit their circumstances doesn’t mean it’s a bad one. It just means it doesn't work for them in this particular moment. Who knows, they may have a change of heart tomorrow, a week or year from now. The key is to look at it as honest feedback because that’s what we’re after at the end of the day. It’s easier said than done, but the process gets easier with repetition and your idea will start to improve over time.

Create a schedule that works for you

The next step is to create a schedule for when you’ll be able to work on this idea. Make it realistic because consistency is key. The last thing you want to do is burn yourself out after a weekend of non-stop work. If you’re like most people, you have “9-5” or some kind of day job or obligation. This means your time is very limited and working on any type of project requires dedication and somehow hacking more time into your day. One of our favorite tricks is to properly plan out your week ahead of time. We recommend breaking out your priorities into high, medium and low items so that you’re able to jump right into your priorities for the week whenever you get the chance. It's okay if you can only allocate a few hours a week - slow progress is always better than no progress.

CNCPTS Resources - I have an idea

Stay Accountable

Try to find a like-minded friend to help hold you accountable and have regular check-ins. Also, don’t be afraid to write down your one month, three month and six month goals and keep them visible at your workstation. Not only is this a helpful reminder to help you stay motivated, it’s a great way to really track how much progress you’ve made since the commitment. Another approach is to mark a giant “X” on your monthly calendar for each day where you’ve hit your goal making progress on your idea. Soon enough, this visual technique will help challenge you to keep your streak alive.

CNCPTS Resources - I have an Idea, Now What

Now who's ready to get your ideas moving?

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