I’ve talked a lot now about the getting the idea. One thing you have to look at to be successful is how other people became successful.

In generic terms – find someone or some business you really admire (for the right reason – because it interests you AND it made money, not just because it made money). See how they progressed. How the company started. What mistakes they made, what early successes they stumbled across.

After doing this with a few businesses you’ll start to see a pattern.

• Start small
• Work hard
• Look for sympathetic partners – be choosy!
• Don’t outsource core components – learn them yourselves
• Build credibility & reputation
• Be flexible

Those are the same for every successful business I know – big or small!

That should do it for the series on developing a business idea. If you want to chat, feel free to post comments – I’d love the feedback!