missionincdevelopment

Believe me- your friends are too nice to tell you. Your enemies say this about everything you do. Your “frenemies” are not specific. You…have a bad idea-and your the only one that doesn’t know it.

Don’t ignore it. Don’t get mad. Don’t be that guy.

Picture it. Your pitching your idea. You developed the concept late one night hopped up on rum and coke and twizzlers. You’ve got it all figured out. 1 million in your first year and your all set. It’s something everyone needs. It’s a cause no one would turn their back on.  All you have to do is tell people about it- and it’s on. After 24 hours of deliberation, it is time to share your brilliance with the world.

*Stop. You need to back up, slow down, and conduct yourself a Feasibility Assessment.

I know. You want to “make moves.” You have to “strike while the iron is hot.” But studies show that 50% of small businesses never make it past their first year. Another 95% will never see their 5 year anniversary. Now that is something to slow down and think about. If you are hungry for your business to thrive-especially in these trying economic times, you will need to heed this food for thought: In order to enhance your lifestyle and ensure longevity, you will need to come out of the gate with a plan.

In many ways, the feasibility assessment is a pre-cursor to the business plan. Why plan for a business that is no good to begin with? This is not to discourage you from going for it. Your idea may need to just be tweaked to meet real needs and deliver real results.  A feasibility assessment allows you to see into the future and develop your business idea around some very real situations and challenges. If you wait until something becomes a problem…it will be too late. If planning is “just not your thing” or “takes too much time” please reconsider being in business. Your business is like a child, it needs to be nurtured, developed, and allowed to grow at a healthy pace. During the life cycle of your organization, you will face challenges and obstacles regardless of careful planning and execution, but feasibility assessments and planning will help you to better deal with those issues in a timely and effective way.

I had a client who decided that she no longer wanted to work with me because she said that she did not “Appreciate my negative attitude toward her business idea and the chances for it’s success.” After being yelled at for 20 minutes, I calmly wished her the best of luck in her endeavour and told her to call me if she required my services in the future. I allowed that relationship to end because there was a major red flag in her approach to her business: inflexibility. In her mind, her concept was her baby and was not subject to critique or alteration. As I consultant, it is my duty to alert clients to any foreseeable obstacles and offer solutions and suggestions on how to combat them. I presented her with a major obstacle to her business, one she will confront later without a doubt. When she does…I expect that she will contact me again, or at least give some thought to our conversation and wonder whether she did the right thing in hanging up on me and sharing a few choice words.  I will gladly accept her back-of course under certain conditions.

Here is the lesson: In her mind, her idea was good as is. And why not? It came from her- and she is great!  In business however, the first thing you need to do is check your ego at the door. There will be times in business when the quest for the almighty dollar will humble you. This is the most valuable of learning experiences, and you will be a better leader and a better business person for it.  Don’t be fooled into thinking it can’t or won’t ever happen to you.

As always-live well and prosper.

Lawanda

www.missionincdevelopment.com

info@missionincdevelopment.com