How many times have you heard that age-old story, "I came up with this amazing idea!" . . . fast forward years later, not much has changed but instead of saying how great it turned out, you're sitting there saying "I knew that'd be a good idea" or "I came up with that idea first, just never did anything with it."

In Grant's 30 years of experience, only 1% of the great ideas that have come by his table, have ever made it to fruition. So why is that? It comes down to a couple of things:

1. When you've got a great idea, you've to go for it! You can sort of start a business, you have to go all-in or it will never come to be.
2. You have to have conviction, follow-through is key.
3. Surround yourself with a network of savvy people that are entrepreneurial, they will help your idea get context and keep you motivated.
4. Take all advice as the people you're talking to now may become your future customers.
5. Careful with naysayers, some advice may be counterproductive and come from someone else's fear or lack of experience.
6. Just because the idea isn't completely new, doesn't mean it isn't competitive.

Three things you need to have very clear:

1. Understand what your idea is, who needs it?
2. Is it competitive or not? Just because an idea has been done before, doesn't mean it has been perfected.
3. How will you find opportunities to educate the market on the importance of your idea?

Steer away from staple comments like "Quality Service", "Best In Class", and "Premium Quality". These comments come off as vague and aren't truly measurable. Find a unique positing statement and let your customers be a testament to its quality.

The big question to ask yourself is "Would I buy from myself?" Would you take money out of your pocket to buy this good or service? If you're not prepared to, you probably won't find it easy to get a customer to do so either.

This also dovetails into your personal value. You have to hold your personal value when you position your product's pricing. You can't hesitate when it comes to the true value of a product or service. The only person you devalue is yourself. Pricing can get challenging, there is a person for every product, positioning and timelines need to be taken into account:

• Positioning: if your brand doesn't reflect its customers, the price won't either eg. JB-HIFI can not be priced as a premium product because it's positioning for great daily deals.
• Timeline: So many people like to get into the premium goods market because of the lucrative looking price tag. It typically takes longer to build a reputation and convert customers for high ticket items. Make sure you have taken this into account and have the cash flow to sustain.

Look at what the market needs, how you sustain it and be critical. Sometimes an idea may seem amazing, but as you study it, the market just doesn't have the room for it. Plan, research then execute.

If you are planning on starting up a new business, check out our Small Business Development Packages for a cost-effective way to hit the ground running. Not sure where to start? Take our Brand Tool to help you get clarity for the next steps.