Dragons Den

I have just had a telephone conversation with someone who took the time to outline their idea for delivering a new service to business users.

As is often the case, the person in question was very enthuisiastic about the service and about its prospects. He himself would have bought it - and wished that he had had a chance to buy a few years ago when he was in a similar business situation.

However, as is often the case on the 'Dragons Den' TV show, the person with the idea has a number of reasons to buy into the idea - over and above the real-world, economic rationale of providing a product or service to meet a need.

For them, there is also the vision of selling millions of pounds worth, and being a success, the kudos, the respect, the recognition....etc etc etc - and it is often the lure of this, that enables them to kid themselves.

All of a sudden, the mind stops functioning properly, and reality is suspended.

Don't get me wrong, many great inventions and businesses are formed in similar circumstances - with what Michael Gerber calls an 'entrepreneurial seizure' - but in these instances 'the idea' has real potential - not just the hopes of the idealist.

Most successful businesses are successful because they identify a clear need/demand - and then fill it effectively. They don't create new, whizz-bang solutions - to problems that don't exist - or only a few people have. There is no money in that.

Simply put, find out what customers want - and deliver it.