What’s Next After Coming Up With a Big Idea?

OK, I am not here to lecture you as to the advantages and disadvantages of pursuing an entrepreneurial career. My goodness, there’s a plethora of literature written about it. Some have even written 500-page books. If I write about it in this post, it would sound everything like a rehash and it would be senseless at all.

(In case you are still craving for some meaty articles on the pros and cons of becoming an entrepreneur, or whether the career is for you, you may start with the following

• Should You Be An Entrepreneur? Take This Test by Daniel Isenberg, HBR Blog
• Should I Become An Entrepreneur? by Jeffrey Bussgang, HBR Blog
• Before You Quit Your Job by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter, book)

So, I’ll just assume that you know the pros and cons, and that you’re already decided on pursuing an entrepreneurial career. I have this theory (which I never had the chance to confirm, but has been my generalization since I was young) that entrepreneurs always have a certain business in mind since they were young. I’ve always thought that the decision to become entrepreneur does not happen at a snap; rather it has been a childhood dream that had always been with the entrepreneur (and the type of business s/he is always passionate about). Well that’s just my personal theory.

So you have the big idea. You have decided to pursue a certain line of business. Now what? How do you start?

If you were like me 10 years ago, I would have quit since I really did not have any idea about how to run a business. Well, 10 years ago I was in 3rd year high school, and the basic accounting course that I was studying then was the closest idea I could think of when it comes to building a business. “Day 1, entrepreneur invests cash–Debit Cash, Credit Owner’s Capital.” But I did not know anything about where to start; I was too afraid the first time I researched about creating a business plan (with thoughts like, how are those projections even possible?). The closest that I know about marketing back then was small-time retailing (well because all of us had been customers of small variety stores, wet section in the flea market, and market stalls). To sell and earn revenue, from which the cost of the items (or termed Cost of Goods Sold, which I later learned in Financial Accounting) would be deducted to gain profit, was all I knew about building a business.

For those of you who do not have any business or accounting background, I would bet you are as lost as I was when I was 14 years old.

So what to do? Now that you have decided: “OK, I will start that computer shop,” or “That corner lot will belong to me for me to place my first restaurant,” or “Now, I’m ready to rent that market stall to start a small bakery.” Now what?

The answer is, well… turn your ideas into a plan, which can then be in turn developed into something real and tangible. “Easy to say because you spent years studying Business in a Business School,” “You can say that because you’re too familiar with the business concepts; you’re a consultant,” “Oh I don’t read business periodicals; I don’t even read the Harvard articles you post.” Some of you may comment. Can you read above why am I blogging again, and what this blog is about?

In order to transform your Big Idea into something real, whether you like it or not, you have to accept that you need to educate yourself about certain stuff. That is true for most entrepreneur; the key is to learn, and to want to learn whether you learn doing business in Business School through the theories (the short and cheaper cut), or learning from experience and the streets (the long and expensive cut). You have to start learning about business, your business, setting up a business, and managing a business. Of which, you have the following options:

1. Start a business even though you know nothing. You may fail many times, but if you learn from each fall, you’ll grow your business sense and you’ll grow stronger and smarter. But this is very costly–all in terms of time, effort, and money.
2. Go enroll in business schools. From a point of view of someone who has spent years in the business school (and is going to spend more years in the future for my Master’s), this too is very costly. If you have the patience (and the resources), then go ahead. But also remember that many successful entrepreneurs do not have Business degrees; don’t get me wrong–the theories are a requirement for business success, but not the diploma. Which brings us to option:
3. Create a preliminary research on business topics, do self-study by reading books and attending seminars (basically educating yourself in the process, at your own time and whenever you have the resources), and seek help from someone more adept in the field of business, be in in theory or in practice–a consultant, a mentor, or a coach. The key is, you have to learn yourself, and learn from them. You learn the theories and key tips in practice, without the need to invest on a Business diploma.

Whatever your option maybe, I could tell that if you do not have any background in business, you were just like me 10 years ago; I totally know how it feels. Choose the best that is closest to your heart, and something that feels right for you (according to your personality).

I am working on a series of e-books for aspiring entrepreneurs. For the upcoming series, the central theme is “Setting up your business.” I will cover the legalities of starting up your business in the Philippine setting, a framework for general planning, and the basics of a business plan. Next in line is a series of e-books for practising entrepreneurs, especially designed to address your management issues and problems in areas such as entrepreneurial marketing, entrepreneurial finance, financial and management accounting for SMEs, entrepreneurial operations management, Human Resource Management for SMEs, and strategic management for entrepreneurs.