Image via Wikipedia/Photo by Jeff Dean

Ok, you have a dream for a business. It is the business you have always wanted to start and the one you are willing to dedicate your life to. Now what? How do you get from the dream to a fully functioning successful business?

One of the biggest mistakes made by entrepreneurs of all ages is to think that the dream alone is enough to make their business a success. Passion for a product or service is certainly essential, but it takes more. Once the dream is fully in place, you have to take the time to discover your business design.

Designing a business is very creative and yet also requires a great deal of “down and dirty” research. It is much like the blending of the architect’s vision for a structure with the engineer’s requirements for structural strength and safety. None of the wonderful designs of Frank Lloyd Wright would have made it off the drawing board unless there was a way to engineer his dreams into reality.

Three areas of research are critical to discover your business design:

1. The mood of your potential clients/customers. Understanding what your clients need and want and knowing that you have a product/service to meet their wants and needs is critical in designing a successful business.
2. The risk/reward ratio in starting your business. Too many times people begin a business with a great idea, but fail to consider what it will cost in time and resources before any profit can be seen. While the reward may seem to be attainable the price to attain it may be too high. Careful consideration of the risk/reward ratio is critical to a successful business venture.
3. The definition of success as you interpret it. You must decide what success looks like for you. You must take this question seriously and find the definition that best suits you. Then you must build with that definition in mind an not be deterred by someone else and their differing definition. Set your standard, build your business to that standard and you are much more likely to be successful in both the short term as well as the long term.

Frank Lloyd Wright was a man of great vision, but he was also a man who understood that vision alone without blending his vision with the realities of engineering would never create the end product. He was willing to blend the dream with the reality of the moment to produce great success!