Ideation for Profit - 5 Easy Steps to Bring Viable Ideas to Market!

The Idea to
Profit
Relationshi
p
Anastasia Valentine
Business Strategist, Innovator
& Positive Instigator
Hashtag #WBS2014
Follow - @AVV

YOU WILL NEVER LOOK AT
INNOVATION OR IDEATION
THE SAME WAY AGAIN!

Painful
Exhilarating
Costly
And extremely
FUN to work on.

I’m an award-winning product strategist, former CEO of
Sandbox, with over 20 years achieving bringing ideas
and products to market in the high-tech, music, fashion
and retail industries. I work directly with amazing
solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, and small, medium and
enterprise-class companies across the globe.
All About
Sandbox, is an award winning boutique marketing
agency delivering strategies, services & support for all
sizes of organizations from idea through to launch
across the globe. Taking the role of your extended
team, Sandbox PM will play a hands on role in your
success in introducing your company, products and
services to the market.
Copyright ©2014 ANVIVA International Inc. Distribution and reproduction in whole or part not permitted without written consent.

This Workshop is Soci@l!
 Share the love!
 We’ve created tweetables for you!
 Share the knowledge!
 #WBS2014

You will leave this session
with:
 A sustainable business practice to
profit from your business ideas.
 A solid strategy to validate your
business investment in new
products & services.
 Clear method to make GO or NO GO
decisions
 A plan to build & grow your
business through ideation!

We’ve got some biz
problems…
 Too many ideas
 Overwhelmed
 Not enough resources
 Not enough time
 Unfocused & non productive
 Need revenue generating streams
There is a solution….

“Too many ideas is a great
business problem to have!”

“Ideation is a passionate
business affair”
“Don’t fall in love with an idea…”

Then & Only THEN, do you seal the deal!

“ALL Ideas are Valuable
NOT ALL Ideas are Profitable”

“Your idea inventory is just as
valuable as your customer &
prospect list.”

Mind Maps
Mind Map example from Personal Brain www.thebrain.com
 Ideal for right
brained business
people
 Creatives
 Manual or Digital

Spreadsheets
J.K. Rowling used this manual spreadsheet to map out the Harry Potter Adventures
 Ideal for left
brained business
people
 Analytical
Thinkers
 Manual or Digital

Idea/Vision Boards
 Perfect to combine
analytical & creative

Sustainable Ideation
 A regular business practice
 More important than your email
list
 Action Items:
◦ ASAP!
 Create your idea inventory
◦ ALL THE TIME
 Have a way to capture your business
ideas
◦ QUARTERLY
 Visit your idea inventory to evaluate your
next big thing.

Tap into your idea inventory for
“low hanging fruit” ideas during
business downtimes.

Common Idea Investment
Mistakes
 Invest too much to soon
 LOVE GOGGLES – Blind us from
reality
 Wrong timing
 Not enough time to deliver high quality
 Doesn’t feel right

Why Business Ideas Go
Wrong
 Not market ready
 Market not ready for the
product/service
 Market won’t bear the price
 Saturated market – no differentiation
 Well has run dry….
 No love

Idea to Profit Path

Let’s Get Acquainted – Dating
Ideas
 Triage your ideas:
◦ Group them into categories
◦ Identify trends
◦ Group like ideas together for more
valuable, powerful & viable offerings.
◦ Choose 5 that stand out
 3 big money ideas
 2 low cost / high return ideas

“People who like you, will listen to
you.
People who TRUST you, will do
business with you”

Soci@lize It!
 No point investing in something that
won’t pay off.
 Action Items:
◦ Find at least 10 people who represent
your ‘Perfect Fit’ customer.
◦ Talk to them about your ideas
◦ Share your vision
◦ Listen, learn & improve

Why You Soci@lize an Idea
 Validate:
◦ the need or want
◦ content / features / deliverables
◦ benefits & value
◦ cost / investment vs. return
◦ price / pricing model(s)
◦ your return on investment / profit
 Test your product/service
 Build your community
 Get endorsements & testimonials

Who to Soci@lize With
 Existing Customers
 Friendly Trusted Potential Customers
 Business Partners
 Inner Business Circle / Mastermind
 Investors

What you Learn from
Soci@lization
 Who your ‘Perfect Fit’ customer is
 What it takes to for the idea to be
profitable
 How much to invest
 How much to charge
 What you make per unit
 How much you need to sell
Bottom Line:
Is it worth continued investment?

“Be Ruthless! Make Go/No Go
decisions based on facts.”

Go / No Go Decisions are
Good Business Decisions!
GO! NO GO!
 Perfect Fit customers
identified, ready &
waiting
 Meets a strong need or
satisfies a want
 Price point works!
 Return justifies the
investment
 Community is growing,
positive buzz is building
 Unclear on target or
customer fit
 Market uninterested
 Value not clear
 Price point unattractive
 Investment exceeds
return, investment (time
& $$) not available.
 It doesn’t “feel” right.

“If you aren’t making a profit,
you are running a hobby not a
business.”

It’s a GO! It’s LOVE!
 Take the opportunity to:
◦ Refine the product or service
 Make it better, dig deeper!
◦ Get customer testimonials & rave reviews
◦ Leak some details & stir the pot
 Engage the media, influencers
 Plan a launch event online and/or in
person
Then you are ready to launch!

It’s a GO! It’s LOVE!
 Action Items:
◦ Engage in “exclusive pre launch” activities
 Don’t use terms like pilot, beta, soft launch –
implies unfinished, mediocre, buggy, not real
◦ Refine your product or service. Add Value!
◦ Get customer testimonials & rave reviews
◦ Arm your inner biz circle with info & tools to
make you (and them) successful!
◦ Package it up & wrap it up in a bow!

Launch It!
 Seal the deal with a fabulous launch!
 Gather your supporters
 Share their words
 Create an offer they can’t refuse
 Celebrate your success
Make the commitment for the long haul to continue the momentum!

Next Steps
1. Create your idea inventory
2. Choose your top 5 ideas
3. Soci@lize them with trusted sources
4. Move forward with the top 2 or 3
5. Refine ideas into products & services
6. Revisit your idea inventory during
downtimes
7. Pre launch to a select community
8. Launch to the public
Keep US POSTED!Keep Us Posted!

My Gift to YOU!
 Free Ideation Workbook & ToolKit
 www.anastasia-valentine.com/wbs201

Visit me:
www.anastasia-valentine.com
Follow me:
@avv

Ideation for Profit - 5 Easy Steps to Bring Viable Ideas to Market!

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Ideation for Profit - 5 Easy Steps to Bring Viable Ideas to Market!

Similar to Ideation for Profit - 5 Easy Steps to Bring Viable Ideas to Market! (20)

More from Anastasia Valentine

More from Anastasia Valentine (12)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Ideation for Profit - 5 Easy Steps to Bring Viable Ideas to Market!

Editor's Notes