When we're hungry for success...
"If you can allow yourself to trust those little movements round your gut that tell you when something is interesting or exciting, they will tell you where to go." - John Cleese
He may know nothing about ecommerce, but then again, how can you go wrong with Monty Python (Cleese was an avid writer of several bits and films)?
This statement, however, comes with warning to those itching to jump the ball on premature ideas. Restrictions do apply.
I've found that, the majority of the time, there are two types of people when it comes to acting on ideas:
- The Under-Thinkers We've all been there. We have an inkling of an idea and think its grand, and without any research or consideration, move forward to implementation. Many times this backfires as we find that the idea is either not original, or fails in its premature introduction.
- The Over-Thinkers We've all been here, too. We like our initial concept, yet spend so much time trying to overly perfect it we nearly kill it, all the while letting other grand ideas pass by garnering little if any notice.
Like Cleese, I believe that the indication of a good idea is that feeling we get right down in our gut, whether it's totally original or not. That idea commonly doesn't come when we're vying to think of something -anything- that will make us more money. It comes to us when we least expect it too, or when we're not thinking about our business at all. And while the ultimate goal is a bigger paycheck, it's not the primary motivation.
Most of the businesses I've personally watched meander from nothing to million-dollar enterprises, the primary goal was not to create a model to ultimately sell for the biggest bucks. Many were simply backed by passion, which stemmed from one idea, that was felt deep down in the gut. Ironically, these ideas usually guide us right through implementation, with fewer hurdles to jump. They commonly make our business model, our online stores, and our lives better. As long as we don't try to bypass key methods of putting them into effect, or make them our utterly complete obsession.
My business was started because of such an idea - I had no idea what I wanted to do and within a week of being laid off from a quite comfortable government position, it hit me. I never had to hunt around for a business name, nor did I have to spend months trying to figure out my target audience. The idea came and it built itself.
I've seen as many online stores fail as succeed, and a good amount of the truly successful ones are run on the basis of a great idea that wasn't over thought or under thought, and implemented with passion above anything else. These are the kinds of businesses that not only make money, but also provide a sense of accomplishment and inner joy to their creators.
My point is simple. If you're seeking a means to change your store's path to success, or to increase revenue, take a little break. Give your gut some time to do the thinking for you. Chances are several ideas will flow freely, and you'll know the right one when you feel it deep down.
0 Comments
Connect with us