4 Reasons Why Early Incubation is the Key to a Successful Business
Knowing how to get your idea off the ground, and through which program is hard enough, yet knowing when to make use of these programs, like business incubators, can be even more difficult to figure out.
You have a passion, a dream, and you want to turn it into a viable business. It’s easy enough to understand that to get the most out of your venture business, incubators are vital in improving results. Incubation programs provide you with management and mentoring programs, access to market resources, networking opportunities and shared co-working spaces, and plenty of knowledge and business skills training. Yet, although business incubators are designed to work with startups and early-stage companies, more often than not, entrepreneurs utilize these programs too late in their business development, when there is less or no opportunity for flexibility or change. Why not earlier? Probably out of fear of your idea being “too green” to expose to anyone. Here are 4 reasons why we at Bridge for Billions are advocates of incubating a business idea in its very early stages to speed your way to success.
1. Allow Yourself to Make Mistakes Before it’s Too Late
Some people think that ideation and prototyping should come before incubation, this is usually a bad call. Those processes should happen simultaneously; incubators are places for trial and error. Early business incubation allows you to make mistakes, change your ideas, become flexible and prepare for failure before you’ve invested too much time, money and emotion into the specifics of your venture, that without a rigorous incubation process may not be successful. Great ideas that turn into successful businesses are often flukes that occur out of luck, or because you are experiencing the problem that your product is solving, but these flukes do not occur without hard work and dedication. You must allow yourself the freedom to negotiate chance, influence and drive to form a strong and stable business.
2. See Incubation as a Learning Experience — Because It Is
Although business incubation is not an easy feat, it is important to see the process as a learning experience. The process of creating and developing a business is challenging and requires a lot of work, yet you must allow yourself to be challenged in your assumptions on how to build a business. The “trial and error” component during an incubation may turn out leading you to discover that your business is not viable, so you might have to find another mean to reach the same goal. Or you may even have to stop and start from scratch on something new. Either way, you will have learnt from your mistakes before you have over invested in your business, and you will be much more confident when you choose to invest your refined product because it has been put through these trials and tribulations. Although it is important to come into any incubation program with a strong, clear idea of what you want your organization to become, joining in the early stages of development is vital in maintaining flexibility to your development process and what the final product may look like. This is especially vital if it is your first venture, or you have a limited background in business.
3. Define and Design Your Business Logically
Early incubation is crucial in the development of an effective and consistent business. Bridge for Billion’s eight-step incubation program clearly defines and outlines the key steps in developing your business and creating a successful and comprehensive visual pitch that structures your vision to be easily accessed and understood by investors. Without using these programs in the early stages of development, entrepreneurs often feel overwhelmed and as if their project is out of their own control. They attempt to create a business model and pitch without undertaking a clearly defined and detailed program that helps to build that business, taking into account flaws, faults and adversities.
4. Eliminate Unforeseen Challenges with Mentors Tailored to Your Organization
Early intervention by industry professionals through a mentoring programs, such as Bridge for Billions’, is vital to the initial development of an organization. By having a mentor oversee and follow the step-by-step development process of your venture, you are privy to an external point of view and thus are able to avoid unforeseen challenges and trials by someone who has been specifically tailored to your sector, organization and skillset. Working with an industry specific mentor also opens up the opportunity for possible networking opportunities. Many mentors have become inspired by their entrepreneur’s projects and shared their passions and adversaries with other people in the sector, increasing the level of valuable, external experience. And who knows, many mentor relationships extend long after the incubation period; some continuing their role as mentor and some even joining Board of Advisors.
If you’re looking for a business incubator that can pull your idea off the ground, why not apply for ours at BridgeforBillions.org.
