The day you sit down behind an empty desk, your first day with your new idea, is always exciting one.

It doesn’t really seem to matter whether this is your very first venture, or your tenth. You can feel the energy and nerves rage through your veins.
You have an idea, and you sincerely believe it will be a winner, something the market has been waiting for.

Your next step is to run this idea by friends and contacts, to get and listen to their thoughts and input utilizing it to fine tune the idea.
In my case, it really helps that I work with two partners with whom I have founded two companies in the meantime. Trust is hugely
important when you do work with others.

Once you have gotten things underway and you have bundled everything into a plan, it’s time for the execution

Work out your business model
Get your branding right
Build your website, another critical element as you have to capture your plan into the site.
kick start marketing and execute it
Start the sales process.

In the current market there are many tools to accelerate the processes and facilitate implementation.

Once you start your plan’s execution, you will quickly get to realize that you will have to fine tune your ideas, sharpen your focus even further.

The key question to ask, both yourself and others, is whether your audience is truly waiting for your product in this shape and form.
The big difference between your first company and the 10th is right here…where you can use your past experience to quickly change things
if they don’t work out the way you had in mind, as well as having built a large and qualitatively sound network you can tap into for advice and practical help.

With a sound network you can gain traction much faster.
I can never emphasize how important the network is, and by that I don’t mean the number of “friends” on Facebook or followers on Twitter, but simply
the number of people you really know, because you met them and have spoken to them.
Make sure that you organize your network well – for instance in a CRM (client relationship management) system – and touch base with your contacts regularly. Just a short email to let them know what you are up to, or speak with them over a cup of coffee. In many ways, LinkedIn is a good tool to re-engage with people or find out more about their background, for instance before going to an event.

But never forget that networking is all about quality and not about quantity.

Tell us about your new challenge.

Adrie Reinders, Director - Connecting Works