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You are an idea person. And as such, you have the ability to blow the lid of your potential and (literally) grow the most amazing business you can imagine.

However, in order to unlock this often overlooked superpower, you need to know how to get started. You’ll also need to know how to overcome the stumbling block. In this brief post, I’ll help you with both those challenges.

We need to start by understanding that there are 2 types of idea people:

1. Those who have lots of ideas.
2. Those who have lots of ideas… and do something with them.

Putting our ideas into action

The person who has lots of ideas and doesn’t use them, sets a very low ceiling on their potential. Conversely, those with the motivation to put their ideas into play, give themselves ever-expanding possibilities. Here’s a quick snapshot of how that latter group tend to operate, when it comes to ideas.

It looks like this.

• An idea will come to them. 
  
• Then, they make sure they capture the idea whilst it’s still fresh in their mind. For example, using the record function of their phone.
  
• Next, they write the idea down.
  
• They then chew on the idea for a while and determine its potential.
• And if they believe it’s worth working on, they develop a simple plan to get it out of their head and into the world.
• They take the first step on that plan.
• Then the next…

Over the years, I’ve found that the key difference between those who work on their ideas and those who do not, seems to be their mindset regarding failure and criticism.

Failure in context

Those who act on their ideas, see failure as essential feedback. They know that nothing ships perfectly first time. That’s why your software is constantly updated and your hardware is a dinosaur, after a few years.

Updates, improvements and advancements come from feedback. In short: No feedback, no progress!

This means we need to eagerly seek out feedback whenever possible. Not try to avoid it.

Criticism in context

Those who act on their ideas understand criticism and handle it accordingly. They don’t allow critics to derail them.

They regard criticism as inevitable, ESPECIALLY if their idea is a big success. Every great idea, product and service has critics. There are no exceptions to this rule. This means if we try to avoid criticism, we’re proactively trying to avoid success, albeit unconsciously.

Note: I cover criticism in more detail here: Why people criticise you and how to deal with it, in just 3 steps.

The great news is that whether we are aware of it or not, we are all idea-generating powerhouses. And by capturing our ideas and putting the best ones into play, we open up endless possibilities. 

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It’s an interesting fact that very few of the world’s most successful businesspeople, set out with money or success as their primary target.

• They aimed to be valuable.
• They aimed to make the world or the marketplace a better place.
• They aimed to make a difference.

However, money or success was not their primary focus.

Here’s how they did it!

Steve Jobs famously said:

“I was worth over $1,000,000 when I was 23, and over $10,000,000 when I was 24, and over $100,000,000 when I was 25, and it wasn’t that important because I never did it for the money”.

If Jobs was focused primarily on the money or success, he’d have been able to cash in when he was in his 20’s… super rich and exceptionally successful.

When Einstein said, “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value”, he showed where his focus was. Again, it was about the value. Einstein carried on working until his death, even though he could have quit decades earlier with his reputation set in history forever.

To understand how the most successful and wealthy business owners achieved their success, we need to look at why most business owners struggle.

In it just for the money

You can usually tell pretty fast, when you encounter someone who is primarily in it for the money. That’s because it’s both obvious and extremely unattractive. And this makes it very hard for them to succeed.

Here are some examples we see all the time, which you will recognise instantly:

• They are the salespeople, whose eyes light up like a wolf when they spot a potential sales victim.
• They are the ill-informed marketing gurus, who STILL say the money is in the list, because they haven’t figured out the value is in the community.
• They are the affiliate marketers, who leave spammy links and comments on blogs and Facebook.
• They are the pests, who send us unwanted spam email.
• They are the pushy business owners, who corner us at events. The ones who pretend they want to know about us, when we know it’s just an old, cringe-worthy networking tactic.
• They are the struggling restaurant owners, who use slightly lower quality ingredients and hire slightly lower quality chefs, and end up with a low quality restaurant that no one recommends.

They are the kind of business owners you thought of, as you were reading those examples!

The way forward for smart business owners

Focus on value. Create products or services that are meaningfully different from the competition. Solve better problems. Create work you are proud of. Offer remarkable service and outstanding quality. And delight your customers at every opportunity.

Persistently create value and use marketing to make it visible. People are extremely attracted to value and they pay a premium for it too. Just ask the owner of any high priced Apple product, the owner of a luxury car or the client of any leading service provider.

Get this right my friend, and the money and success will surely follow.

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Your friends, colleagues, customers and contacts have something in common.

They’ll remember what you did when times were tough for them. They’ll recall how you treated them when they needed a break… when your support meant everything.

Yes, even those who fail to say thank you, will remember you. Not everyone finds it easy to show gratitude, especially when they’re embarrassed by their situation.

On a personal note, I still remember people who helped me when I was starting out in business. I remember those who believed in me, when no one else did. I remember those who introduced me to useful contacts. And I remember those who mentored me and guided me.

Of course, the opposite is also true

People soon forget yet another pat on the back, when they’re going through a boom period. And they’ll quickly forget yet another offer of help, when they clearly have absolutely no need for it.

As a business owner, you already know that your time is scarce. So, use it wisely. Where it can have the greatest impact.

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As a business owner, the fears you have are largely the same as your competitors. This presents you with an amazing opportunity.

You see, when you avoid doing the things you fear, you also avoid doing the things your competitors fear.

In other words, whatever you’re avoiding, they’re avoiding too!

This means whatever it is, is going to be in very short supply.

Here’s why this matters to you and your business:

• Lack of supply = scarcity.
• Scarcity = value.

If you want to be in demand.

If you want to avoid selling based on price.

If you want to stand out (and you do). Learn to embrace the things you fear. That feeling of fear that usually blocks you, could actually be your inner compass, telling you that you’re on the right track.

Here are some specific examples to help you.

If your clients paid you significantly more:

• You could give them considerably more of your time and attention.
• You could provide them with a far, far better level of service.
• Your clients would value you more. So, they’d keep returning, delighted with the service they receive from you.
• Your clients would also recommend you to their friends, many of whom would then become clients.
• And these new clients would be just as delighted. And recommend you to their friends.
• Repeat.

Before you know it, you could have a premium quality client base, growing organically.

So maybe it’s time you considered offering a premium version of your services? Your marketplace already has a highly profitable subset, who value quality and will very happily pay more for it. In fact, they eagerly seek it out.

But that’s not all

The premium quality corner of your marketplace is not only the most profitable. It’s also, by far, the least competitive. It’s the middle ground, which is always overcrowded.

Now imagine for a moment how your business would thrive, with higher fees, higher profits, happier clients and less competition.

Average is overrated.