How to Actualize Your Next Big Business Idea

How to Actualize Yur Next Big Business Idea It happens to all of us Youwake up, have your coffee, take ashower, and suddenly, youhave an epiphany. Youthink its a real game-changer that it will lift you out of your drab or uninspired lull and into a world of opportunity. Youthink youshould tell everyone youknow about how youintend to overhaul the personal counselingindustry, write a New York Timesbest seller,or start an urban farming collective in New Mexico. In your head,you simply cant fail.Years ago, I made the jump from working for someone else to becoming a business owner. It has been the best thing Ive done in my life. However, before you changeyour LinkedIn job title, quit your job, and throw a party, you need totake a step back and breathe. Write youridea down somewhere and put it away. Sleep on it, and continue your life as it always was. After some time passes, reread your idea and deci de whether or not you still want to go through with it.Make Sure You Love What ReachingThis Goal Will InvolveIf you have a big goal or dream that will impact acertain industry (e.g., writing a book, selling your fashion designs on Etsy, starting a new technology company), its safe to assume that you have some experience in or passion forthe activity itself. If the ultimate goal is to do what you love, you should really, really love what youre about to do enough to take it to the next level.In the beginning ofthis new venture, you should keep asking yourself if youre willing to love it this much if, for example, you love it enough to start learning unrelated skills (like light programming, finances, editing, and social media) just to make it work.People are more motivated and accomplish more when they love what theyre doing, so make sure this is worth it for you.Visualize Your End Goal With as Much Detail as You CanDo you know what realizing your dream looks like? Can you see yourse lf on that podium, collecting your trophy? Do you know what your acceptance speech would sound like? Can you taste the celebration dinner when you finally go public with this company that you are willing into existence? Take a moment toindulge in your fantasy.Visualize your end goal in rich detail. The more clearly you can see what success looks like for you, the more attainable your goalswill be.Our minds are often swimming in negative thoughts of. We doubt our credentials or our ability to achieve what we want. We compare ourselves to others and feel like their accomplishments will always overshadow our own. In these moments, Ihave to remind myselfof the victories Ican taste and fill myheart with the positivity Iwas full of when Istarted.Research, Plot a Strategy, and Break It All Down Into Actionable StepsTry to get a better idea of whats ahead. Look for people who have pulled off similar projects or started similar companies, talk to professionals in the space, andmap out what i t would mean for you to get to where you want to go. This means researching a variety of different fields, like business and finance or search engine marketing. When you have an idea of what reaching your goal entails, break down your strategy into small, actionable steps.For example, your strategy might be something likeKnit a small collection of sweaters.Hold a photo shoot.Set up an Etsy shop.Make a blog.OrMap out a story outline with a list of characters.Write character backgrounds.Write for three hours a day.OrDo a market study of the product youre thinking of launching.Work a ton of overtime to save capital.Look into grants.Reorganize Your Routine or (StartOne)The most important part of realizing your dream is doing thework. There is no successful person out there who hasnt done the work insome wayoranother. If youre serious about your goal and you have a strategy for tackling it, you have to work at it every day. This could mean getting up a few hours earlier to write a few ch apters every day or dedicating time after work to building out your social media presence, for example.Its important to stop framing your goal as adream project or an idea. Once you have decided to go through with your dream, it stops beingdream and becomesa real responsibility that you owe yourself.Get Into a Growth MindsetIf you believe that your big idea is an opportunity to learn more and improve your skills, you will be more motivated to continue reaching above and beyond what you had set out to do. People who believe that intelligence and skill levels are fixed quantities tend to give up and use their lack of aptitude or intelligence as an excuse not to continue.However, those who adopt agrowth mindsetare more likely to keep traveling down the path to success. They believe that every goal, every challenge, every obstacle is an opportunity to learn and improve.It is dangerous to say, Im not an organized person, because it assumes you are incapable of getting your life in order. Similarly, saying Ive always been an introvert implies that introverts cant, or shouldnt, try to challenge themselves socially.Recognize your challenges and setbacks now and know that there willalwaysbe challenges and setbacks but that you can handle these problems. Then you can say to yourself, I can overcome this and learn from it, and youll have much greater potential for growth and success with your next big idea.-A version of this article originally appeared on BusinessCollective.John Ramptonis the founder of Palo Alto, California-basedDue, afree online invoicing company specializing in helping businesses bill their clients easily online. You can connect with him on Twitter johnrampton.