You're an entrepreneur with a great idea. How do you make sure it's more than just a pipe dream?

1 Validate your idea

The first step to making your idea more than just a pipe dream is to validate it. This means testing your assumptions, gathering feedback, and conducting market research to see if there is a real problem, a viable solution, and a profitable business model behind your idea. Validation helps you avoid wasting time, money, and energy on something that nobody wants or needs. It also helps you refine your value proposition, identify your target audience, and discover your competitive advantage. You can use various methods and tools to validate your idea, such as surveys, interviews, landing pages, prototypes, or minimum viable products (MVPs).

2 Plan your strategy

The next step to making your idea more than just a pipe dream is to plan your strategy. This means setting your goals, defining your vision and mission, and outlining your action steps and milestones. Planning your strategy helps you clarify your direction, prioritize your tasks, and measure your progress. It also helps you anticipate and overcome potential challenges, risks, and uncertainties. You can use various frameworks and templates to plan your strategy, such as business plans, lean canvases, or OKRs (objectives and key results).

3 Build your team

The third step to making your idea more than just a pipe dream is to build your team. This means finding and attracting the right people who share your vision, values, and skills, and who can complement your strengths and weaknesses. Building your team helps you leverage the collective intelligence, creativity, and experience of others. It also helps you delegate, collaborate, and communicate effectively. You can use various strategies and platforms to build your team, such as networking, referrals, co-working spaces, or online communities.

4 Learn and adapt

The fourth step to making your idea more than just a pipe dream is to learn and adapt. This means collecting and analyzing data, feedback, and results from your actions, and using them to improve your product, service, or solution. Learning and adapting helps you optimize your value creation, customer satisfaction, and business performance. It also helps you embrace change, innovation, and experimentation. You can use various techniques and tools to learn and adapt, such as customer development, lean startup, or agile methodologies.

5 Grow and scale

The fifth step to making your idea more than just a pipe dream is to grow and scale. This means expanding your reach, impact, and revenue by acquiring new customers, retaining existing ones, and increasing their lifetime value. Growing and scaling helps you achieve your goals, fulfill your mission, and sustain your business. It also helps you create a positive social and environmental impact. You can use various tactics and channels to grow and scale, such as marketing, sales, partnerships, or fundraising.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?