Some people are more inclined to the business side of things, whereas others are more creative. But what happens if you’ve got a new product in mind and you are trying to make the business fit around this vision? What does it take? What should you do next?
Protecting Yourself
It’s important that you start to get an idea of what it takes to protect yourself in a legal sense. Someone like a patent attorney can help, but you also need to be aware of the power of an NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement). If you are looking to get some feedback on your invention or product, signing an NDA is vital for your protection. Even if you discuss the idea with close friends and family, it should be a priority to make sure that you are protecting yourself in this respect.
What Are Your Hopes for the Product?
Businesses are in existence to solve a particular problem. Does this product solve a problem in a certain demographic? But it is important for you to ask yourself what you want to achieve from this. This is an incredibly simple thing, but we have to remember that setting a business is going to place a lot of constraints on you. It can be emotionally draining, as well as financially draining. This is why you need to ask yourself if this idea you’ve got is actually worth seeing through to the bitter end. Because if you want to set up a business around the product, you’ve got to make sure that the product is going to keep your enthusiasm. Before you start paying for prototypes, you’ve got to ascertain your own individual hopes and needs for the product.
Can You Run a Business?
Or in fact, do you want to run a business? If you have hopes for a specific product, you may find that you want to stay on the creative side of things. In which case, is there someone you can partner up with? Running a business is not just about making everything fit around the product, but about making sure that every little component keeps the product in the minds of the people that deserve to have it. For example, marketing is one little component, but it can be incredibly time-consuming. Do you want to focus your time on these smaller components, or would you rather be focused on the product itself? Because it’s not just about serving the needs of the product, but it’s about serving the needs of the business. This brings into play the customer, the employee, and generally finding ways to make running a business simpler. Because if your enthusiasm for the product can sustain your ability to run a business, you are onto a winner.
When we have an idea for a business product or something that we don’t think has existed before, we can let our imagination run away with us. We have got to remember that if we are to serve a certain vision, we may very well need some business acumen as well.
