My Success Strategy

The Steps:

1.) Create, improve, or repurpose.

Ideas flow like water but do they already exist? Have they existed? Is the idea owned in part or whole by someone else? Doing your homework often leads you deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole of creation.

2.) Engineer, source, and manufacture.

How can it be made? Can you make it yourself? Where can it be made? What are the levels of quality that your customers would be satisfied with? What level of quality would you be satisfied with?

3.) Test sales and consumer demand.

What does "retail ready" look like to your customers? What sales channels are likely for this particular product? How much marketing is needed to convert sales? Is there a future for the idea?

4.) Optimize the numbers and stretch.

Scale up and determine the true costs associated with the manufacture, storage, shipping, and fees. Just because the product sells does not mean it will be a viable business.

5.) Separate it and give it room to grow.

If the outlook is still positive, formalize the business, protect it, and completely separate it to allow it to grow properly. Access available business capital and let the business run smartly. 

6.) Enjoy the fruits of a successful business.

Decide what business success looks like to you only after this stage when the true value should be clearer to see. Is success drawing a salary or profits? Is it licensing the idea? Is it selling the company?