Sharing ideas

[Justloadit]

1. It depends on the product and the audience. The trick is to make a product aimed at intellient people that don't care too much about the shape of the button.

There's not enough intelligent people to buy your product so that you can afford your Aston Martin DB9

[adrianh]

Well then we need to come up with a product that only has one button, that everybody wants and that they will pay lots of cash for.

I always said that I would love such a button to be fitted to all women's wear, just one click and its all off, no complicated straps, elastics, clips and stuff. Perfectly easy to operate even after 12 beers...

[BusFact]

... I am very weary of the "I am going to make a fortune overnight" ideas. The products that I have in mind will grow and develop over time.

I'd go further than saying "very weary". Can you imagine how much finance one would have to come up with to make a million electronic widgets overnight?

No thanks. I'll stick to looking for medium growth small business ventures that are more manageable and in my opinion more realistic. I'll leave the overnight fortune to my lotto ticket purchases .

[BusFact]

Unfortunately what I may think is the best idea since sliced bread, may not be shared by the rest of the planet.

I tend to be a bit of a sceptic which means that unlike you guys I struggle to come up with what I would consider product ideas worth putting time and money into. Instead I easily seem to find potential flaws in ideas and so they hardly ever get off the ground. Haven't come up with and "sliced bread" ideas in this life time .... yet.

When something is developed or bought into, I actually enjoy setting up the processes around the admin and business operations.

[adrianh]

You need people to drive ideas, flaws and all and you need people to drive the business side. My brother is a brilliant businessman but he is not technically inclined. We all have our skills..

[murdock]

You need people to drive ideas, flaws and all and you need people to drive the business side. My brother is a brilliant businessman but he is not technically inclined. We all have our skills..

i agree...my biggest mistake i made when i started my busssiness....was spending so much time perfecting my electrical skills...if you you want to become a good bussinessman dont do a trade to become a bussinessman...go to college and become a bussinessman and employ good tradesmen and engineers.

i believe if i was a good bussinessman i wouldnt still be carrying a tool box around 21 years later...i was considering going back to tech to complete my studies...but instead have decided to can that idea...why because if thats what i need to do then i should go work for a company which will pay for my studies then offer me a good package once i am educated...if i want to continue with my bussiness i need to learn 2 things...

how to manage my money...like in the apprentice...make every cent count.
how be a peoples person who can sell ice to an eskimo.

[wynn]

@Busfact - I can only speak from my own personal point of view. I can develop some products very quickly and I have access to money. Of course I don't have the skills to develop many others. I get stuck on exactly what you are saying, marketing and selling. For me the problem goes even deeper, I stuggle to put the admin/ hr, and all that stuff in place. I can clearly see where the problems are but I am unable to resolve them because my mind simply can't focus on matters of putting a business together.

This is probably why it is good for technical types and business types to work closely together.

This is where 'Idea Hatchery' would be the perfect vehicle.
A group of people from around the country already NDA'd who ar ready to discuss your product and probably market it successfully in their particular areas??

[adrianh]

1. how to manage my money...like in the apprentice...make every cent count.
2. how be a peoples person who can sell ice to an eskimo.

1. I'm learning this very slowly. I read a wonderful quote which applies to both of us "The best way to teach children about money is not to have any" - I've been using this method on myself...ok I'll admit, not the method that I ever planned to use...
2. I believe that the only way I'll ever be a peoples person is if I either take up drinking heavily during the day or go for acting lessons...and for selling ice to an Eskimo, one day, when I am through using the "No money method" of learing about money, I'l hire a cunning pretty, long legged, buxom blonde (okay, back to thinking about business) rep...

[adrianh]

@wynn - NDA?

[murdock]

my wife tells me i am capable of selling ice to an eskimo...the problem is knowing when to stop...other wise i end up telling them why they shouldnt buy it.

i dont know about learning by not having money...i have had this problem my whole life...and still havent learnt anything...also one of the reasons i dont want to win the lotto and dont buy tickets...i dont know how to control my spending or manage my money...an accountant once looked at my books and gave me advice...he also asked me ... for expample why i had purchased a gass guzzling bakkie with all the extras...my response was...so i pay less tax...his reply...you fool...only when you make more money than you can spend or actually have a tax problem should you be spending money you dont have...hp is not a way to pay less tax...this advice sticks in my mind but like smoking...eating and all the other things we do out of habit...are hard to break.

one of the most difficult things about running a bussiness is not spending the money before you have paid all your taxes and overheads...it is way to easy to see a large deposit as an opitunity to buy more stuff that you probably dont actually need.

[wynn]

@wynn - NDA?

'Non Disclosure Agreement'
Where the signatories have signed an agreement not to discuss the details outside of the group.