How to Move Your Good Idea from Concept to Cash

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Over the last week I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with my brother in law in MN.  After being married for 4 years this really the first time we’ve had the opportunity to hang out.  I’ve learned a great deal about him over the last several days.  The biggest thing I’ve learned is that he is a man of many great business ideas and unlike some his ideas actually have merit and would do great in the marketplace.  Do you have a friend or realative likes?  Maybe you’re this guy?

The million dollar question is: How do you turn these great ideas in to a profit.  Below are a list of points you will need to consider to accomplish this successfully.

1.  Choose one idea and move as fast as you can with it.  If you’re creative by nature you probably have a new idea every minute.  This is how I am and for awhile I didn’t know how to control this trait. They way I’ve learn to harness this gift is by using my creativity to help develop my single idea and to make processes easier for clients.  I’ve choosen to focus on a single task  and not be vererd off course by anything that is unrelated to this task.  This is mandatory for success.  Choose which idea you will persue first an only focus on it.

So…how does one select which idea comes first?  Choose a list of criteria and measure each idea against these criteria.  What tends to be common for most people is having more time than money.  If this is the case for you, choose an idea that you can develop today and make money with tomorrow (literally).  Plan to build and develop this concept over the next 2-3 years.   (This means blocking everything unrelated to this idea out for 2-3 years).  Then use the money from this venture to fund your next venture.

Once you’ve choosen your idea it will be important to move fast?  Why? Beacuse we are all interconnected and when you focus on a single idea it is released in to the Marco-mind or into a thought field that everyone subconsciously has access to.  In computer terms it’s like putting you idea into an unprotected cloud.  If you do not execute on this idea rest assured someone else will.  Good ideas are never lost they simply go to other people.

2. Put Your Idea on Paper.  Putting your idea on paper can take many forms.  Most people think of  business plan when I share this priciple.  Obviously, you will need to make a business plan in time if you would like to acquire funding for your idea.  However, initially, you will simply need to write down the products or services you plan to sell (in detail), who you will sell them to, and how will you reach these customers.

It is important to write your ideas down for 3 reasons.

I.  So you don’t forget them (because you will if you’re an idea magnet)
II. So you have a guideline for moving ahead.
III.  Writing is the first step towards manifiestation.  The written words grounds your concept in the physical world.

3. Protect your idea.  There are several things you can do to protect the idea you’ve choosen.  The biggest defense of all silence and and speed to market. You may also need to consider other forms of protection like non-disclosure agrements, trademarks and patents depending on the idea.

Only discuss your idea with your inner circle or mastermind.  This is a small group of 3-7 people that support your dreams and will provide you with positive feedback.  These individuals should preferrably be more successful than you, have their own things going so you aren’t seen as a threat.  Additionally, they should have solid connections and be cooperative in nature instead of competitive.

Keeping quiet keeps you humble and moving forward.  It also protects your seedling or baby idea from naysayers and idea thieves as it develops. It may even be important to stay silent about your idea around your spouse or other family members, escecipally if they are risk adverse or have seen a substantial amount of your past failures.  If you need to conduct reseach and you will do so without revealing your end objective when possible.  Your goal should not to be to talk. Instead, you should focus on put points on the board then sharing your success.  The former is day dreaming.  The latter is marketing.

4. Set at definate date when you plan to have your idea on the market.  This is not always easy.  However, after you have quitely gathered the information needed from your various sources regarding time frame and and any possible expenses, set a realistic timeline for the completion of various milestones and ultimately the completion of your project.

Finally, work like you life depends on meeting this deadline.

What action help you bring new ideas to market?  Share them with us here.

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Catchafire.org Brings Business Experts and Social Enterprises Together

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As the leader of a Social media and mobile marketing company, I am often asked to volunteer for certain projects. Some of these projects are exciting and others, shall we say just aren’t. I recently discovered a new website called Catchafire.org that allows me to choose the volunteer projects I want to be involved in. This is awesome because I have the opportunity to choose what inspires me and I have the chance to work nationally on non-profit or social entrepreneurial projects that matter.

Additionally, since it looks like my business may be in need of a tax deduction this year, this site tracks the monetary value of the hours I donate so I can make them available to my accountant during tax season.

Best of all Catchafire.org gives social entrepreneurs and non-profit leaders the opportunity to receive professional help from committed professionals on their projects. What a great way to make a difference.

Update: Received and email for Catchafire.org today stating that they are primarily looking for volunteers in New York and I would have to email them about specific projects if I wanted to volunteer. Also, after sharing Catchafire.org with a friend she introduced me to a similar site called Taprootfoundation.org. I’ll check these guys out and keep everyone posted.

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Better Employment Solutions Launches in Tucson

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Many of you know that Xtreme Business International provides cause-related marketing services and supports business owners in becoming profitable and making a difference.

However, what you may not know is that Xtreme Business International is also a hub for social entrepreneur leadership training, advocacy, and the development of innovative social enterprises.

Our goal is to launch one new social enterprise each year. This year many of you benefited from our marketing services or participated in our Tucson Social Media Lab, where we provided affordable social media training to more that 300 micro-business owners in Tucson in order to help them more successfully compete with larger firms and the have greater access to local, nationwide and even international markets.

As we cross the half way point in the year, I’m very proud to say that we have co-founded and launched our second social enterprise, BetterEmploymentSolutions.com. The goal of Better Employment Solutions is to provide job seekers with an online personal branding solution that will strengthen their online image and help speed up the job search process.

We will begin hosting training sessions to educate job seekers on how they can use our system to develop an online presence that outshines the competition, proves they are the leader their future employer is looking for, and helps reduce the job search time-frame.
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We have already launched in Phoenix with huge success! Our clients absolutely love our concept and we are hosting Employee Branding Events 4 times a day!

Our model consist of a FREE video resume site, world-class social media training, and the search engine optimization needed through our EmployYouTube.com
site to ensure your online brand makes a powerful statement to your future employer.

Best of all, all of our training is FREE because we have corporate sponsors that pay us to provide this service. To learn more visit
www.BetterEmploymentSolutions.com.

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Everywhere You Go There You Are

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michael-tucker-3It is difficult to run away from who you truly are…In fact it is impossible. When I graduated college in 2002, I looked everywhere to find my mission, my purpose, my calling. I tried the military, Corporate America, small business. None of these alone where enough for me.

I loved business but I loved making an impact in the world just as much if not more. I believed I could make a difference. That is why I decided to become a social entrepreneur and help others do the the same.

Now day’s I live in Tucson, Arizona and among other things, I run a business that makes a profit and a difference… and I teach others how to do the same with their businesses.

Kevin Anderson is one of several Tucsonans taking on this challenge.
He’s creating 100 videos of people like you who choose to make a profit while making difference.

What industry related social problem could your company solve if you took a few minutes to consider your business as a vehicle for global… or at the very least, community transformation?

My passion blog is SocialEntrepreneurForum.com and my business is called Xtreme Business International. Check out the links to learn more.

Or…if you’re in Tucson, come visit me at at The Social Entrepreneur Leadership Alliance Meetup

What’s your passion? Where can you make a profit and a difference? What calling have you been running from? If you stopped running who would you become.

Drop me a line. I would love to hear your story.

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