Make your Business Idea S.M.A.R.T.

One of the greatest challenges we have as entrepreneurs is that we get carried away with making the big bucks. Our focus at the beginning which is big money blinds us entirely from doing the needful with the ideas that are swirling up in our heads, so much so that we immediately jump into doing whatever it is that our minds have programmed us to do. At the end of the day when we encounter the earth shaking bumps on our way we begin to think that our village people have come again. Far from it! It has absolutely nothing to do with our innocent village people! The whole problem is borne out of our not doing what we were supposed to have done from the onset.

Every right thinking entrepreneur who has a business idea MUST first do a S.M.A.R.T check on that seemingly fantastic idea.

So is  your business S.M.A.R.T.?

S: Specific 

What exactly do you want to achieve,  the more specific that you are about what you want to do,  the greater the chances that you have to succeed 

The how, why, where, who, what, which and when are very important in the journey ahead. I call it narrowing down to your focus point. Don't try to be the Jack of all trade,  and eventually end up being the master of non.

M: Measurable 

       

Do you have indicators for you to know when you have reached where you want to get to like milestones that we see on our way when we embark on a long journey? These milestones help us know how close we are to our destinations. There of course will be no point continuing on a journey that keeps you going round in circles.

A: Attainable 

Are your business goals attainable? Considering the time and efforts needed to achieve your set objectives, will it be commensurate to your profits? What are the things you need to put in place to attain the heights that you want to get to?

R: Relevant 

How relevant is the business that you are trying to push to the market? Will it meet the anticipation of the market target, and at the end make you smile to the bank?

T: Timely 

Timing is everything. After having done all of the above, there of course is nothing else left to do than to launch that business or product immediately.

Let me use this example to bring home my point

Say you've seen this pretty bae,  or handsome bro,  and your heart tells you he or she is the one to spend the rest of your life with. You decide on your own to go ahead and marry yourselves simply because you feel it is the right thing to do,  and of course both of you are in love I guess? In the process of time, you find out after the hurried  marriage that your partner is indeed  your blood relation.

Wouldn't it have been better to had done proper check on the spouse to be from people around you before the union, most especially your friends, his friends and your family members?

That way the embarrassment that you find yourself in would have been avoided. So it is with our so called great business ideas.

Doing the S.M.A.R.T check will save you a lot of money, pains and frustrations!

©Emmanuel Eteta Ita (Edited).