You have an idea, now what?

Ideas are amazing things. They can get us fired up and ready to take on the world yet simultaneously have us cowering in the corner wondering if anyone else will agree it is indeed a great idea.

Many of us have what we think is a great idea tumbling round in our heads, but we are often too afraid to tell anyone for fear that they'll laugh at us or even worse steal it for themselves. So what do we do? Well often we do nothing.

Except, for some of us that idea still keeps playing out and we just can't leave it alone. Months may pass, even years but we still keep on coming back to it wondering if it will ever work.

How to know if it is a good idea or not

Product ideas can be even harder to take action on. Its tricky to know if you're on to a winner and it is even tricker to know where to turn or who to talk to about it. There are no set rules or tick boxes you can run through that validates if it will work or not.

What you do need to do is some research and some thinking.

You need to figure out if there is a need for your product, if you're solving a problem or adding value to the user. If there is really no benefit to your product you're going to have a hard time selling it. 

There are definitely steps to take in some sort of 'correct' order to get your product business up and running but this doesn't help if you're not at that stage yet.

So how do you get there? How do you test your idea?

The one page business plan

The one page business plan (sometimes called the business model canvas) is a great place to start. This is a single page document that you can use to test your idea, test your assumptions about your idea and also delve deeper into who your customer is and who is going to buy your product.

Don't be put off by the words 'business plan'. This isn't some old school wedge of paper where you have to try and predict every eventuality for your imaginary business. No, this is a succinct and concise document where you distill your thinking down into its core elements. 

The one page business plan allows you to do lots of thinking but then really focus on the most important parts of your idea and your audience. As you go through the process you will naturally distill your thinking and refine it into short, snappy and easy to stick to buckets.

Buckets? What do you mean buckets?

The one page business plan is made up of nine buckets or rectangles or whatever you wish to call them. The main thing to be aware of is that they all fit on one page. This means you have to be snappy with your words when you come to fill it in.

The nine elements to the one page business plan

1) Customer segments
2) Customer Relationships
3) Channels
4) Value Proposition
5) Key Activities
6) Key Resources
7) Key Partners
8) Cost Structure
9) Revenue Streams

So these are nine areas of your business ideas that you should interrogate to work out how your product is going to be fit for purpose.

It might seem daunting but as you work through them each one will naturally lead on to the next one.

Shall we go into a bit more depth?

Let's talk about what you might need to think about for each of the content buckets. Remember this isn't about retrofitting data or research to fit your idea, this is about working out if your idea is actually going to work. So you need to do this exercise through that lens. You might find out some things you aren't prepared for or your idea might completely change for the better based on your deep thinking.

1) Customer Segments

This is a big portion of the one page business plan and something you need to deep dive on. It might take some time and some research. This is all about getting to know your customer inside and out. Who is your product targeting? Where do they hang out, what do they like, dislike, consume? You can’t sell to everyone all the time and the more targeted you can be the better and the more likely you are to be successful.

You might want to create personas or avatars for some imaginary customers, writing an in depth bio about them almost like telling their story, down to what they like to read, their favourite social channels or TV programs.

It might be you need to go and meet some people who you think might be your customer or put together a brief questionnaire. Sometimes some field research can really help fill in the blanks. 

2) Customer relationships

Once you know who you are targeting, how are you going to build good customer relationships? How are you going to nurture your audience?

Maybe have a think about what your sales process will look like and how will you follow up with your customers for feedback and to get them to make further purchases. The life time value of a customer (how much they will spend with you until they no longer want to buy) is a really important part of the mix so working out how you will reach people and bring them along with you on the journey is a really valuable exercise.

Ask yourself what does the customer experience look like?

3) Channels

This is fairly self explanatory in the sense that you need to think about how you are going to reach your target market. What communications strategy will you use? Will you plan to use paid media as well as driving organic sales? Will you be on all the social media channels? Or zone in on one you want to focus on?

Most importantly where will your customer be hanging out? What channels will best reach them when they are ready to buy? Remember this isn't about the channels you want to use it is about the channels through which you can reach your target market.

4) Value Proposition

This is a biggy and you will want to spend some solid time on it. You need to work out if you are a problem solver or a gain giver. Do you relieve or enhance? Not every product solves a problem, some simply make an experience the best it can possibly be and leave the customer thinking 'why wouldn't I buy it?'

The value proposition succinctly sets out what you are going to deliver and to whom and what sets you apart from others in the market. Be as specific as you can, you can't solve all the problems all the time. Ultimately what is it about your idea that adds so much value it makes you better than any of your competition?

Your value proposition should take the form of one or maximum two sentences. It should clearly state who your product is for, the problem or desire they have, what your product is and the main benefit or takeaway of that product. 

For example a value proposition for a hair company might be:

"For people with frizz prone hair who find their style doesn't last once they go outside, our frizz-foundation is a hair serum that smooths frizz for up to 24 hours"

There is no way you can miss who the target market is - not everyone with hair, people with frizzy hair that get affected by outdoors air. You also know from reading this that the company has a product called frizz-foundation and it is a hair serum. The benefit is that the serum controls your hair for a whole day.

Your value proposition isn't usually customer facing but it should be at the core of your business helping t keep you on track with all that you do.

5) Key activities

In this section you need to think about what you will actually do in order to deliver on your value proposition. If you want to be the best at something what will make you the best? Will it be down to your materials, offering knock-out customer service, customisation or maybe making something collectable?

It’s a good idea to do some competitor research for this section to figure out where you fit in the market and then how you are going to stand out.

6) Key resources

So you have your customer in mind, a clear value proposition and how you're going to deliver on that. The next logical step is to work out what you need in order to be able to start and run your business? What are the non-negotiables or the things that are vital to the success of your product?

So is it equipment, tooling for manufacture, will you need a patent, a recipe, bespoke packaging, a team of people with with specific skills?

What is it that you could not make your product idea happen without? Again be specific and clear in your thinking. You might want to start with a list of every minute thing you can think of and then distill it down to the essentials.

7) Key partners

Son't worry you don't have to go out and find a business partner if you don't want to. The word 'partners' in this section refers to anyone that is going to help you get your idea going and help make it a success. 

This could be a mentor or coach or maybe joining a program or community. It could also be a consultant or a contractor that you will use for a short period of time. 

Use this section to really delve into who you can surround yourself with who will help you stay on track and help you learn.

8) Cost structure

The dreaded C word - costs. You don't have to get really granular here like you would in a traditional business plan. This exercise is more about working through what will be your biggest outgoings at the start and then monthly. 

It is also about working out where that money will come from, be it a loan, a grant or your own personal investment. You may even want to find an angel investor. If you don't know how much you need and what you need it for then you will not have any foresight into whether your business is financially viable.

So think about start up costs and any big running costs and you should be able to build a reasonably clear picture on what this idea of yours is going to require.

9) Revenue streams

Last but not least is your revenue streams. By this we mean how are you going to bring money into your business, how are you going to sell your products? Will you be selling online? In an actual bricks and mortar store? Pop ups or at markets? Do you intend to wholesale? (which will need to factor in your pricing strategy)  

What do you see as the most important revenue stream for the business?

Your revenue stream may come from a mix of places so figuring out what this looks like will help with the allocation of resources as well as the money to get them going such as setting up and paying website hosting or stall fees for markets. It will also shape your pricing and the profit margins you need to aim for to make your product business viable.

A lot to think about but a lot more achievable than a stuffy old business plan

You might be feeling overwhelmed with all that you've learned you need to figure out. However, you don't need to tackle everything in one sitting. The beauty of the one page business plan is that you can work on one section at a time and in fact you'll find that you can't move on until you have completed the step before because it will help shape your thinking.

If you can figure out who your customer is and what they need, it will show you if your product is going to provide what your customer needs.

The one page business plan really is the best was to get that amazing product idea of yours out of your head and down on to paper.