Wednesday, May 5, 2010

What's in an Idea?

Anything and everything we do stems from an idea. Usually it is based on something we love or at least somethig we do well. My passion is food. I love the smell of fresh cilantro, the texture of a well cooked filet of salmon, and simply putting a bunch of random things in a bowl and creating something sweet and delicious. You may like to compute food costs and stare a spreadsheets all day..... well, nobody is perfect.

The point here is that everything stems from an idea. The trick is, if you open your own restaurant, your idea needs to be profitable, not just good. It's not what your idea is about but rather what you do with it or how it is executed that will make you successful in the long run.

My idea is this: over this past weekend, I decided that my stengths lie in serving breakfast, lunch, and select bakery items. So I'll work toward planning some sort of cafe, maybe offering coffee and teas. The idea.

Now is when the beloved business plan comes into play. Or, ultimately, research. Lots and lots of research to make sure your idea is simply not just an idea. Here's an example. Let's say I start researching and planning out my cafe. I soon find out there are two delis, a Starbucks, a full service bakery, and a breakfast shop in the area. Great idea!! Open a cafe? What, am I crazy?!

Clearly, a nice idea, but it won't make much money. There is too much going on in the area that is too close to my possible concept. Here's the take home: what can you do to stand out? and always ask yourself  "so, what?" And it might be a good idea to take a trip to this place that every town has that stores lots of books. Its called a library, and it can be a wonderful friend.

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