Why new business ideas fail and what to do about it.

Troy (my business partner) and I were having an interesting conversation last week. The topic of conversation was failure, in particular, the fact that in the US they celebrate failure as a badge of honour. Conversely in Australia we generally “have a crack” once or twice before we give up. Everyone has that crazy friend of relative who is always chasing “the next big thing.” We secretly sit back and take comfort in their failures, knowing that we are SO much wiser, heading off to the job that we actually hate, so that we can work on making somebody ELSES dreams come true. If their entrepreneurial endeavours might some how come to fruition, it would only serve to remind us that we were too afraid to go and chase our own dreams. As long as they don’t succeed, then we will be OK. On the other side of the fence are the entrepreneurs and innovators constantly chasing their dreams. Taking on the odds, safe in the knowledge that they only get one shot at life and they don’t want to leave anything in the tank when all is said and done. At theSPACE, we interact with all kinds of people. When we meet with a success story, the first thing I LOVE to hear about is their failure. Why is that? Well I find that is where the REAL learning occurs. As Thomas Edison so famously said, “I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” 10,000 ways! Have you tried 10,000 times to succeed with a new idea? Can you imagine? So getting back to our network of entrepreneurs at theSPACE. We have plenty of courageous people who are “having a real crack” and I am constantly in awe of their determination to succeed. When asked what is the biggest obstacle to them achieving massive success with their startup or innovation, guess what the most common response is? No it’s not money, it’s time. Yes time is what keeps them from turning their dreams into a reality. So how do you address this? Well it’s quite easy actually. You share your idea. YES share. Share it and build a team to take it to market. If I had a dollar for the number of people who have told me they are sitting on a MILLION dollar idea, but they can’t possibly share it. Really? I hear new ideas every week. In addition to working 7 days-a-week on my own ideas, I’m going to drop everything to start work on yours? I don’t think so… So how can you share an idea and build a team around it? Well that’s easy too. On the 5th September at theSPACE, we are launching our first EVER 8-week pre-accelerator program, “Startup Basecamp.” In conjunction with ilab Germinate, we are going to SHARE our knowledge, our energy, our resources, and ideally turn a new idea into a highly scalable, globally successful business. Participants will come and pitch ideas, find new co-founders, build new businesses, test the market quickly, pivot based upon the feedback they receive, and find the pathway to success. I’m in, are you???? Startup Basecamp commences on September 5th. Register here http://thespacecairns.com/startup-basecamp/ Get in the game! Damian