It’s funny how EVERY single idea we get sounds good, especially when they’re still just in our heads.
You can already see how you start getting everything the idea needs to fly — the team, resources, tools, etc; you can already see yourself executing and launching the idea, and you can already see the idea succeeding and drawing unto you untold fortunes and fame.
Heck, you even already see yourself finally buying that toy you’ve always wanted!
But…it’s still all in your head.
And…if you’d allow me burst your bubble…YOU LIE!
That idea in your head isn’t a good idea. You’re only wishing…
At least, not until you finally put it to the ultimate test: execution!
That’s the only time you can claim your idea is good or bad…of course, depending on the results you get.
Most ideas are bad tho’
The truth is: most ideas are bad! (Wish you’d read this article, even tho’ it’s for Wikipedia ideas.)
For every good idea, there are probably one-hundred-and-one bad ones.
I agree with the writer of the article I shared above: “People often become famous for having just one really good idea, among a lifetime of bad ones.”
That’s the truth; most people with successful ideas or enterprises have a dozen failed ones they can show you. In fact, after that successful idea, they’ll still have more failed ones. Ask Akin Alabi!
What to do?
So the best thing that you can do for yourself as an entrepreneur is:
- Get as many ideas as possible — good or bad (cos in the same way, you can’t tell if it’s really bad until tested!)
- Launch as many as you can, though one after another
- Don’t waste too much time; launch fast, so that if you’re gonna fail, you fail fast and move on to the next one.
- Have passion for what you do, but don’t be emotionally tied to any idea. Hypertension and depression are real shits!
My Story
On 12th January 2019, I launched a new website with a new product (an eBook actually).
I launched it through a sponsored post on one of the biggest websites in Nigeria.
The niche is actually a confirmed hot (best-selling) niche, and the product was created to meet a famous need — was supposed to solve a common problem (almost general for its prospects).
Yet, the launch failed!
The site got over one hundred (100) new subscriptions from the ad, but not one sale!
Unfortunately, this is a product I’d been working on for a very long time — since early December 2018. Yes, the time (and emotions) I spent on it is the most painful part — followed by the 50k that went down the drain.
My friend Mayowa calls it a 50k lesson. LMAO!
Lessons Learned
Of course, I learnt some lessons. That was too much to pay without getting anything back in return, even if na just lesson.
So here are the things I learnt:
- The topic of this post: no idea is good idea until otherwise tested and proven!
- Spend less time creating products or testing ideas. Move fast!
- Try to lower your testing cost. (Unfortunately it’s one of those products not allowed to advertise on Facebook, so I had to use a popular blog.)
- This one I heard from Ronald Nzimora (@ronaldnzimora) sometime ago: When a problem can be solved by simply taking a pill or using any physical product, then a digital product aimed at solving same problem wouldn’t sell. (I paraphrased!)
- Listen to the elders. Lol. (My friend, ‘Deji Yusuf, advised me that eBooks don’t sell on popular sites. Not like I still agree though. Lol.)
- That’s life! Yes, sometimes you win, sometimes you learn (not lose, duh).
What Next?
Of course, I’m always creating something or building something or experimenting something or launching something or about to launch something.
In other words, I keep moving (tho I had mini-depression for a few days after this one failed).
But what I want to say here is what I’ll do next about this same idea/product/website.
- I retest.
Yes, even though it failed, there are other variables I still want to test, like pricing, audience, positioning, etc.
Why? I still don’t believe some products don’t sell through some mediums.
I’m a believer in the fact that no matter the medium through which you offer your product or services, if it’s what your audience wants, it would sell.
So, I’ll still relaunch this — just not sure when e go be.
My sites RenegadeCommerce.com and Oludami.com are all about experimenting/testing stuff and reporting the result anyways — whether success or failure.
- I’ll test some other products too, not just the one I already created. I’ll perhaps test physical products sometime in the near future 😉
- I’ll definitely try other mediums, not just that site or just sponsored posts.
Final Thoughts
Really, nothing more to add. Just keep trying stuff; don’t be afraid of failure yet don’t live in a self-created El Dorado of successful launches without actually launching to prove or disprove your idea.
Stop going around telling people you have this million-dollar idea that will change the world when you’ve not even started working on it. Don’t even come near me with that bullshit!
PS: What do you think about this post? What would you add to the lessons I’ve written out here? Which other lessons did you learn? Let’s continue the discussion in the comments.
