Let’s see, someone asks if I can help them with making their
small business more successful. I ask about the nature of the business and what
its prime purpose is. Why is this business important? Does it provide a unique
service or product unattainable from any other source?
Is it’s mission important to potential users that makes the
value of the business very real? Or does the success of the business only spell
financial well-being of the business person owning the business?
Making money may be important to you, but it is not all that
important to someone else. What you offer the market place is what is important; does it has usefulness and intrinsic value? If your product or service is
truly unique, you have a winner.
Well, maybe a winner. Success will depend on how large the
potential user population is; if it is small, the numbers might not work out.
The operations may not produce enough revenue to cover all the costs of
producing the output and distributing and selling it to customers.
Sometimes these calculations are simple. The result of
noodling and doodling over the proposition is quick and relative easy. But
sometimes the proposition is mind boggling. It is so large and complicated one
really has to work at discerning the worth of the idea. Will it take too many
resources just to set up the business platform so the product will be produced?
Will the customer base you hope is waiting for this product recognize
its value to them? Will they be moved, therefore, to purchase this product?
We call this the ‘value proposition.’ What makes an idea
worthwhile to pursue as a business?
And if the numbers don’t work out, is this value proposition
a worthwhile objective for a charity, non-profit or government agency? The
latter might we appropriate if the proposition is of huge value to society but
not profitable to produce. Such are the arguments weighed in considering a
value proposition. And a government agency may not be the answer either!
Wrapping your head around some of these proposals is not
easy. Intrinsically you recognize the worth of the idea, just not of its profitability for an enterprise.
The human mind may be able to conjure up almost anything
worthy of attention; but resources do not exist for everything to come to
fruition. We must make choices. Individually and as a society at large; we must
choose options that make sense and are sustainable.
Not all projects are sustainable. Nor are they worthy enough
to call forth government resources. Some ideas are just good but not worth
pursuing. Maybe at a future date it may be, just not at this moment.
And then on to the next idea to consider.
I once had a client who desperately wanted to travel the
globe and see and experience all the different cultures. She just didn’t have
enough money to support the wanderlust. But then she thought of helping others
travel the world and she naturally thought of being a travel agent. But what would make her unique in the market
place?
We put our heads together and came up with this: travel for
a purpose. Help people learn more about life through travel. This led us to
consider trips that would help people see and understand the Southwest canyons
of the American west. Maybe bring a geologist along to help explain what they
were seeing. For those interested in geology and the allure of the Southwestern
canyons, this trip would be a huge draw.
If people want to see for themselves the poverty and need of
poor African villages, and help those same villages improve their lot, then
arrange a trip where travelers help dig fresh water wells for the village; or
build a health clinic, school or orphanage. Such mission-centered trips might
really make a difference in the lives of those doing the travel, and also the
villages in which life will be met head on.
Spending time in Rome or Venice or any other major
tourist attraction is more worthwhile if the reason why the site is important
in the first place is studied. Maybe it is because of local art, or architecture, or
history, or music, or whatever. Why is this place important to visit? Should we
arrange special tour guides who will educate us about the region and its
component values?
Travel with a purpose other than idle comfort or curiosity
might just be the ticket to a winning idea.
I wonder how many other travel agencies cater to this
worthwhile objective?
This is what I mean by wrapping your head around ideas. So
many options to pursue; so little time or resources to make them a reality.
Choice is involved; informed and discerning choice.
June 15, 2017
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