Why Good Business Ideas Go Nowhere

Sometimes, good business ideas don’t go anywhere: here’s why.

In a perfect world, every “good” business idea would develop fully, evolving into a fleshed-out, profitable business. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. So why are there so many good business ideas floating around that don’t reach that ultimate conclusion?

There are five major stopping points.

Lack of Action

The first major hurdle is a lack of action. You might have the idea sitting in the back of your mind, but you never spend the time or money it takes to turn that into measurable action. You never write a business plan, and your idea never sees the light of day.

Lack of Planning

Some ideas fail because they weren’t adequately planned out. Their originators had a fantastic nugget of an idea, but they never did the research to support it. Accordingly, they typically hit an obstacle sooner or later, and crumble in response to it.

Lack of Funding

A good idea with a good plan behind it still isn’t a guarantee of funding. If you don’t have the capital to get your idea started, it’s not going to go anywhere. Some businesses can run with just a few hundred dollars to start, but that’s not universal.

Lack of Momentum

Building initial momentum is difficult, no matter what your idea is. If you aren’t able to launch a minimum viable product, or if you can’t generate an initial band of followers, you may never be able to see success.

Lack of Flexibility

Even good ideas aren’t perfect. Changing market and competitive conditions necessitate updating your business plan and approach; if you aren’t able to be flexible with your idea, you probably won’t survive.

If you can get past these five important gates, your business idea has a shot at success. The better you understand your potential limitations, the more chances you’ll have to overcome them.