The Guru's Route

Scenario

·         Have an idea: ü

·         You or your partner possesses a unique skill set :ü

·         Have relevant industry experience: ü

·         Have relevant industry contacts: X

·         Have capital: X

Strategy

Did your industry experience lead you to the identification of a problem, and to conceive a product/service to cater to that problem? If not then it means you are venturing into an area where you do not have necessary industry experience.

If yes, and if your skillset allows you to create a product to fill the identified gap then go for it. If it’s a service, then find the necessary connections with potential customers to deliver the service. You might have to partner with someone who has the necessary connections.

Further, if your service requires help from third-party contractors, then better search for them as well. A prior connection with all stakeholders is a must. Focus on ways to build credibility (click here to learn how to build credibility) with the potential stakeholders before you begin to work with them.

If your proposition needs refinement, then you must engage with some potential customer to give you feedback on your offering (click here to see how to validate your business idea)

If it’s a tangible product then still you have to go through the prototyping, and pilot testing process.

But first, see the simplest possible solution to the problem you have identified, while using no or least amount of technology. Imagine if technology can improve the solution then will the customer pay for the price in exchange? (click here to see how to price the product).

Build a prototype yourself (click here to see how to build a prototype). If that requires investment, then see if your family, friends, or any relative can invest. If not then you will have to use the personal savings to develop the prototype. It’s very unlikely that any institutional investor like a venture capitalist would jump in to finance your R&D process. Consider finding an angle investor instead (click here to learn how to engage angel investors)

If you can build a fully functional prototype, show it to potential users who can give you brutally honest comments to improve. Remember, sometimes it can take years to refine a technological product to marketable levels. 

If it’s manufacturing at a reasonable price (click here to see how to price the product), then it’s selling, developing a system of customer support (click here to learn about customer support systems), is an entirely different ball game. 

 If the product is already available in the market then setting up a manufacturing setup can be easier, but selling would be difficult due to competition (click here to see to sell in the B2C market and click here to see to sell in B2B market).

See if a similar product exists elsewhere in the, 99.9% chance is that it might already exist, investigate to find it (click here to learn how to search for a supplier in an international market) if it does not exist then what has stopped others from bringing the product in the market.

• If a product exists, try to import (click here to learn about to import in Pakistan) or procure it from a local source, and become a distributor (click here to find how to become a distributor) of that existing product addressing the same problem you want to address. Think of manufacturing only when you have enough customers to justify the investment.
• If it’s a service, then find the necessary connections with potential customers to deliver the service. You might have to partner with someone who has the necessary connections.
• Further, if your service requires help from third-party contractors, then better search for them as well. A prior connection with all stakeholders is a must. Focus on ways to build credibility (click here to find out how to build your credibility) with the potential stakeholders before you begin to work with them.
• If your proposition needs refinement, then you must engage with some potential customers to give you feedback on your offering (click here to learn how to validate your idea).

Once you are connected with all the stakeholders and can deliver a product or service to a target audience in your network (click here to know how to find your target audience), focus on one customer at a time! Remember your goal is to gain experience in the market, customer behavior, and behavior of other stakeholders. 

Let growth happen slowly, and gradually, let happy customers bring more customers by generating positive word of mouth which is considered to be the best marketing strategy by business experts. Now gradually build your customer base while reinvesting profits. 

Hire people to help you only when you think you can't meet customer demand on your own! (click here to learn about hiring strategies)