From Business Idea to Business: become a Successful Entrepreneur.

Many of you those who are working for some one else like, a bank executive, a government official, a salesman or a cook think of having your own innovative ideas and dream of starting your  own venture. You dream of starting your own products or services, that would change your world and give your loved ones a desired financial security. 

But due to your  other family obligations, financial needs and commitments you  cannot start your own and the dream remains only dream or the idea remains as it in your mind, until someone else starts what exactly you thought of doing and you get sad and dejected and you feel that the opportunity is lost. 

But there are some, who do take a risk and try to bring your own ideas to life by starting your own ventures and run into roadblocks, obstacles that seem too big to overcome. It could be because you had no proper business plan, or you had not done the proper study of the market or you could not plan your cash flows or someone must have discouraged you that might lead to give up your idea and abandon the project half way.

At the same time, there are few of  you those are in between. You still have your idea but  haven’t acted on it. It could be because you’re afraid to put your idea into or It could be you just don’t know where to start from and whom to approach and when to do it.

Those of you really bitten by the entrepreneurship bug, should not waste your time dwelling on why you could not start earlier or some one has already started similar to your idea or why similar idea by someone failed. If you have your idea and the product or services that has a market, you should focus on how to move it forward and start preparing your business plans. Write down your idea on the piece of paper. Your idea must be jotted down on a notebook. When you write down your ideas on a white sheet of paper with colored ink, you are able to bring your abstract idea in front of your eyes. You try to replicate those idea on the paper.  Your vision remains clear and focused. Write down what is the idea about the product, how is it being produced and what is the cost of production. Is there a market for it and if yes where? How will you arrange for the finances? If your product is innovative and serves the consumers needs it could turn into a million dollar worth project. Take a call on it.  Prepare a draft. It is never too late.

I would like to share with you some of my own experiences that will help you to get where to start with your own ideas land where you want to go.

First and foremost is your self confidence and your belief in you. You must believe in your ideas or product regardless of what someone else thinks. If your friends or relatives says "no" to your idea don't get discouraged. Be firm and committed to your own ideas. There is a market and demand for each and every product. All the products are not for every one, but every product or service is for someone. Mercedes cars are not for every one. Only the rich are it's customers and are sold in thousands.  Similarly, Nano and Maruti are within the reach of middle class and cars are sold in millions. The other example is Dailies in Goa. Earlier we had only three or four dailies. At present there are almost over a dozen dailies published in Goa covering the same news and topics. Each one has it's own customers. And each one remains profitable without having all the readers. 

There are several hotels in Goa. Right from a lodging to five star hotels catering to the needs of travelers to Goa. However, there is also a section of visitors to Goa, those who wants to stay more than a week or for a month and hotel stays becomes a costly affair. Many travelers  seek to stay in an furnished apartment. Sensing this gap, few enthusiastic entrepreneurs converted their second homes in the coastal belt of Goa into Serviced Apartments those which are scattered at various complexes. Few are not professionally managed. During my travels to various countries, worldwide, I had stayed at service apartments those are housed in a single property at one location. This concept of Service apartments in the Middle East, Europe and USA is quite popular.  I thought of bringing this concept to Goa and without any delay developed a property at Porvorim which houses unique, boutique style One Bed Room Hall Kitchen Apartments, where, all the units are luxuriously furnished and contain all the equipments right from Hot plates, fridge, microwave oven, crockery, cutlery in the kitchen and wide screen 32 inch LED HD television sets with TataSky connection. The building is Wifi and green. My booking comes directly from the internet and we do not entertain walk in customers at any cost. Now, I have my own clientele, comprising Executives and foreign nationals those who are seeking large space than a hotel room at much lesser cost.

Similarly, your idea when brought into market, will have it's own clientele. You can start small. Cater to your local market and test your product. Once it is accepted by the consumers, increase the space. Don't wait for the occasion to start your ventures. The best time is now. I find many people saying, I would have started my venture long back, but due to mining closure and recession in Goa, I could not start or will start later. In fact if it is recession time, then it is the best time for some one, who has been laid off from mining businesses. Those of you with good innovative ideas and longing to start something of your own, this is the best time for it. Don't be afraid. Be bold. Be fearless and be prepared to expect a fall. There are examples of starting the ventures during recession. In the United States of America, Disney, Microsoft, and IBM were started during recessions. They created their own clientele and today they are successful corporations of the world. During recessions lot of people lose their jobs, it gives them time to explore their dreams and utilize their creative talents. They start their own ventures.

It is quite common that there are several hurdles one comes across, during your initial set up, but you need to overcome them. Ask any entrepreneur, and each one of them will narrate the difficulties and problems they have faced to reach their destinations. It is my firm belief that the resistance you counter for every one hurdle you face, for every "no" that you get, you approach one step near to your success.

Before you embark upon your own ideas of business, I encourage you to read more about becoming an entrepreneur. There are several books available in the market on entrepreneurship as well as content on the internet that will guide you to prepare your business plans. When you construct a house, you get the house plan prepared by an Architect and start your construction according to the plans. Similarly, Business Plan is the blue print of your project. 

The other day, I was reading the news that in Ponda Market the vendors, there have out numbered Goans. Why in Ponda? Go to Mapusa Friday Market. The majority of the small time vendors are outsiders. The similar scenario is all over Goa. The reason is, the Goan market is fertile for any type of small or medium scale businesses. It takes a smart mind to figure out the potential for the prospective business and these vendors have identified Goa as a fertile ground for their prosperous future. If Goans were interested then they could have indulged into these businesses and prospered. But majority of Goans  have lost the sight of these  Golden opportunities since they lack the entrepreneurial spirit. They are mostly looking forward for a 9 to 5 job at a fat monthly salary or a Government Jobs, where they could enjoy the best privileges. At the most they dream to go abroad in the Middle East or to work on the ship. Instead of complaining the outsiders coming and starting successful businesses in Goa, we should appreciate their risk taking spirits and learn from their entrepreneurial adventures and follow the suit. 

Those of you who are toying with the idea of starting their own but could not start due to some family or financial commitments should start working on their projects on a part time basis. Having a job from nine to five, sharing time with family plus this adventure could mean a daunting task, but it is worthy. You will be able to bring your idea into the business world. Who knows, your idea of introducing the new and innovative product could be worth of multi million dollars project.