If you are considering becoming self-employed or starting a business, you will of course need a good business idea. In this article, Daniel Schäfer shows you how to build a successful business by using the right structures and taking inspiration from successful entrepreneurs.

Business formation: The right structure determines success or failure.

Let us clarify a common misconception right from the start. Outsiders mostly see only the success stories of well-known entrepreneurs and assume that they built a large business with a brilliant idea. The truth, however, is that most so-called geniuses followed a strategy that you can also emulate.

A good example of this is Bill Gates. Of course, you know him as a tech pioneer and founder of Microsoft. But if you look behind the scenes, it quickly becomes clear that even Bill Gates was not always successful. It is said that around 16 to 18 out of 20 of his business ideas ultimately were not profitable.

However, this is irrelevant, because the remaining ventures were exceptionally successful. Like almost all other well-known and celebrated entrepreneurs, Bill Gates consciously took the risk of failure. He was able to do this because he knew that the strategy of building several companies in parallel would pay off in the long run.

Depending on how well you are positioned with your resources, you should therefore work on pursuing not just one business idea, but several. You then assess these different projects according to how viable they are. You can use the following structure:

A-projects generate profit and enable you to reliably generate capital.
B-projects are financially self-sustaining, but do not yet generate (significant) profit.
C-projects are, in your view, promising, but require financial support.

How to develop a profitable business idea

You then decide how long to pursue a project in the B or C category, or whether it is better, for example, to drop a C-project and instead start a new business. It is important that you always keep an overview and maintain control. Even if you have a large number of ideas, you should only implement as many at the same time as you can actually manage.

Now you may be wondering how you are supposed to develop several business ideas in the first place. The answer is surprisingly simple. You need an organic list of ideas, in which you initially record, without judgement, all ideas that you develop through your own thinking, research, or external input.

And what if you have several ideas on your list? Then comes the most important part. You now have to decide which of these ideas you should implement first. To do this, you will of course need to create a ranking based on fixed criteria. For example, you can ask yourself whether you can raise enough liquidity, whether you have all the technical and human resources needed for implementation, or whether the market potential is large enough.

Important: You should only implement a promising business idea when a ‘slot’ becomes available in your defined structure. In other words, when you can ensure that you can fully commit to the start-up.

Maximum success with minimum effort. Is that possible?

First, the uncomfortable truth: You will only develop new business ideas if you leave your comfort zone and engage with the worries, wishes, and problems of those around you. Successful business ideas usually solve the difficulties of the target group or fulfil certain needs. However, you will not discover what these are while sitting at home on the sofa, but only by gaining new experiences.

Once you have developed one or more business ideas in this way, it is important to proceed cleverly. This is where it is decided whether you really achieve maximum success with minimum effort. Use the so-called ‘lean method’.

This means that you do not implement everything with full commitment straight away, but first check whether your idea is well received in the market.

You can use these milestones as a guide:

1. Research: Check whether there is sufficient demand for your product or service. Has a similar offering already existed? If so, which factors were decisive for its success or failure, and what can you optimise?
2. Develop your offering step by step. Suppose you want to develop an app. You then have the option of initially working out certain functions and offering them to your target group. This saves you time and costs, and allows you to test under real conditions how well your idea is received.
3. Check whether your offering is accepted. What feedback do you receive about your offering? Is there potential for optimisation, or are customers already willing to invest money?
4. Viability. If your product test has been successful, you should aim for your company to become financially self-sustaining. Check what is still needed to generate sufficiently high revenues and create a plan for implementation.
5. What is the next step? Do you want to attract investors as early as possible? Is it enough for you to make a living from your business, or do you want to become a market leader? As soon as the company is self-sustaining, it is time to answer these strategic questions.

Would you like support in developing your successful business idea? Then we are here for you. Book your free initial consultation now and we will discuss how we can support you.

About X-Group

Belief in your potential and a focus on the things that truly move you forward are the top priorities at X-Group GmbH in Berlin. You receive tailored support that identifies the most important bottlenecks. This way, you remove obstacles and can work purposefully towards your success.