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O2 for entrepreneurs
O2 for entrepreneurs™ is a set of tools and resources intended to help entrepreneurs increase their probably of success. They cannot guarantee success, because such guarantees are impossible. Many internal and external forces come into play when starting and growing a new business, and any one of them has the potential to derail your venture. That said, with good planning and informed execution, you can build a solid foundation, mitigate identifiable risk factors, and strengthen your ability to survive the risks you can't or don't anticipate. O2 for entrepreneurs™ helps you do that. The process consists of two major phases -- Opportunity Assessment and Opportunity Execution. Each of these has many sub-stages, all of which are important. The Assessment phase validates the feasibility of your underlying business idea and establishes the foundation for the business. The Execution phase puts the plan into action. Opportunity Assessment
The important thing is that I've learned to contain the excited part and quickly get to the stinky part. I've learned to maintain my intellectual honesty about these new ideas and not lose my objectivity. That's a difficult thing to do, especially for new entrepreneurs. It took me a long time to master the techniques, and I did so only after going down the wrong path with a couple of businesses and learning late in the game there were serious flaws in my assumptions about the product, the market, and/or the business itself. Sometimes the problem could be corrected, but other times, the flaw was fatal to the business. More homework up front might have allowed me to identify and head off the problem. That's what Opportunity Assessment is designed to do. Help you evaluate a business opportunity honestly and objectively. It starts out with a quick and dirty assessment to identify the obvious flaws - the technology you need doesn't exist or is too expensive; there's an 800 pound gorilla in the market that will stomp on you the minute you become successful; the market doesn't exist yet and no one knows when it will; or one of a thousand other reasons why someone isn't already making millions with your idea.
If your idea
passes first muster, then it's time to roll-up your sleeves and
really go to work. Each element of the opportunity must be
assessed in detail: the product or service, the total market,
your addressable market, your distribution channel, your operations
plan, your people plan, etc. Then you need to figure out how
much it will cost to get into business and reach a financially
sustainable level of operation. When all of that is done,
you're ready to decide if you have the ability, desire and drive to
move the idea into the Execution phase and devote the next X years
of your life to. O2 for entrepreneurs™ helps you do that.
Opportunity Execution The Execution phase is when the fun begins! Now you begin to develop your product or service, build your team (if your plan calls for one), get the word out, and get ready for sales. It's also a scary time, when money is flowing out of the business and not in. No matter how much money you've set aside for the start-up phase, there's lots of pressure to get the business up and running, and revenue flowing back in. O2 for entrepreneurs™ helps you do that, too!
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Tom Eckmann Absolute Business Services Inc. PO Box 19860 ● Seattle, Washington 98109 Phone: 206-441-2067 ● Fax: 206-350-5235
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Anyone
who takes a shower, or is conscious of the world around them, can come up
with a "great business idea."
I think of at least two every day! And usually two things happen: 1) I get really excited about the idea and its
possibilities, and 2) I conclude the idea stinks and has no chance
of success. You might think this would drive me crazy, but it
doesn't. In fact, I love it. I
thrive on new business ideas; they keep me excited about life and
my entrepreneurial juices flowing.
