How To Improve Business Ideas: The Evolution Of A Business Idea

Imagine if the person who first invented the wheel would not have actually created the wheel. Well, just as the saying goes, someone would have re-created the wheel shortly after. However imperfect analogies can sometimes be, the point illustrated here is that if an idea is not worked on, and is allowed to just sit there, someone else will come along and take it from theory to reality.

So try to test your ideas and act on them if you can. Taking ideas from theory to reality is a creative process. In any type of creative process, there is a very high failure rate. Chances are that the idea is in some way imperfect. That is ok. In fact, that is expected. In fact, success at first try should be highly surprising. The great thing about trying ideas out is that no matter the outcome, there is some learning that happens along the way, and that learning gives rise to new ideas.

As the entrepreneur keeps testing out his or her ideas, the original idea begins to change and evolve. The evolution is not a linear improvement, but rather a mix of some steps forward and some steps back. Most world innovation was a result of continuous trial and error rather than a single lightbulb moment where an idea suddenly comes to someone.

So as the entrepreneur keeps learning about what was not quite right with the original version of his or her idea, he or she continuously gets slightly better ideas which they think is the new great idea. Then the entrepreneur tries the new idea out, and again learns about which parts of that idea were not quite right.

As the entrepreneur keeps trying, the original idea continuously evolves, moves forward, and becomes less and less recognizable. Anyone doubting this, search Google for "First Yahoo homepage 1994."

This may be partially ironic to anyone who has ever tried to protect their business idea because if anyone tried to steal or copy that first idea, they would have gotten a really bad idea while the entrepreneur who continuously worked on an idea would have probably evolved that idea into something more worthwhile over time.

That brings us to the case study promised in the beginning of the article. Here was a business idea I once had:

Make a public forum to discuss solutions to various problems. Some problems would be solved by creating businesses to solve them, and there would be crowd-funding on the site to fund those businesses.

I was very open with this business idea and not protective of it at all. Since I was not sure whether this idea was any good, I asked many people whom I knew. Half of them liked the idea and half of them did not understand it. So I built that site to see whether people would want to use something like this. No one really wanted to use it. Then I changed the site many times, each time learning more and more.

I learned many things along the way. One of the things I learned was that people did not want to openly discuss business ideas, but instead wanted private business planning tools, tips and sometimes guidance. Eventually I built a mobile app on the Android platform to plan businesses. That app was much more successful and users liked it quite a bit. But many people using the app constantly kept contacting me and asking for business ideas. Of course, even if I had business ideas to give out, I could not give everyone the same business ideas. Different people are suited for different kinds of businesses. So I wrote an article about business ideas. But people still wanted more information about all aspects of business ideas.

So I made this app with a number of articles about business ideas that look at business ideas from different angles and evaluate many nuances and points of confusion. Just to be clear, this app is NOT a great business idea. I simply made it because it to help address a topic over which there is quite a bit of confusion. I hope the app is helpful and you enjoyed reading.

Here is the full article on business ideas. And watch the video to get some additional insights on how to get good business ideas.

Even before you decide on your business idea, and before you plan your business, one thing you should consider is which business niche to get into. Here is a tutorial on how to choose your business niche.

Here is a full article that covers how to protect your business ideas, and whether it is a good strategy.

Here is a full article that covers how to write a business plan.

If you need some help determining whether your business idea is good, and how to turn it into a real business, I can coach you the process, and help you understand the pitfalls and the advantages of your idea, and how to make your idea reach its full potential. Here is a page where you can learn more about my business coaching services.

Below is a video tutorial on how to raise money for your business idea.

If you want to learn more about business ideas, check out all my business and marketing books including my business plan book. You can also check out my Udemy coupons page to learn about the discounts I currently have on my Udemy courses. You can learn more about business and marketing from my Udemy courses.

For more on evolving and perfecting business ideas, take a look at the work of Eric Ries and Steve Blank, and the learn startup movement.

Article by Alex Genadinik