It’s the most commonly asked question of successful entrepreneurs - how do you spot an opportunity that’s worth pursuing?
However, Anshuman Vohra, the founder of multi-award winning, global powerhouse, BULLDOG Gin, and most recently fast-growing HALO Hydration, told us there were some strategies that he employed to help him identify which ideas to discard and which ones to pursue:
You find the idea / product / service viscerally appealing
It sounds obvious but you need to love the idea yourself. You need to really believe in it emotionally, visually, fundamentally. You have to follow your gut instinct here and if it is telling you (or screaming at you) that this is a strong idea then you may be right.
To be a successful entrepreneur you will probably need to work all hours of the day, make many sacrifices and often make difficult choices. This is all much more palatable if you strongly feel there is a need for what you are doing and you absolutely believe you can make it a success.
You find yourself constantly thinking about it
You are sitting at the cinema but you can’t concentrate on the movie. You’re waking up in the middle of the night and can’t switch off your mind. You’re on a first date, and your mind wanders. This may be a sign you’re onto a good idea. If you find yourself unable to concentrate on anything else, it may be time to channel your energy into your new endeavour. If you are prepared to give anything all your waking hours and mental capacity, it stands to reason that it may have a chance of success.
You play mental chess about if, how, when this could materialise
This is the point at which you are mentally jumping from ideation to reality. You have already considered the risks and the pitfalls, and you are still prepared to take the leap (FOMO can be an effective motivator)! So much so, that you’re now delving deeper into how you could work around the challenges to make this happen. This phase involves a lot of mental juggling which is all part of the process of working out if this is an idea worth taking forward.
Your extensive research keeps reinforcing how good the idea is
Researching your idea is essential and when it’s something you are passionate about, you are happy to do the groundwork. It can reaffirm what you already believe to be true and help you cut through the ideas that are not so strong or make tweaks to your business plan that may prove fundamental to its success in the long run.
At some point, you will need to tip over from keeping your brilliant idea a secret, to sharing the idea with others. Although this can be nerve-wracking because you a) don’t want anyone to steal your idea and b) you don’t actually want to hear any negatives, if your concept is solid, it can strengthen your resolve, give you confidence and move you quickly forward into a plan of action.
You need to find trusted sounding boards that will give you honest advice and feedback and if they are broadly sounding as enthused as you are, then it’s onto the next step.
You just want to get going
This is where the fun starts. You are prepared to give up that secure 9-to-5, you’re willing to work through the holidays, and you’re even prepared to put some of your hard-earned cash behind it. That takes real commitment and that’s when you know you’re onto something good.
