So you’ve decided to take the plunge with your most recent business idea; what now? To get to where you want to go, knowing how to get there is essential. What that in mind, there are many life stages to a business. Depending on the founder (and the industry), each segment can take years, but experienced founders can leapfrog things ahead exponentially.

Research Mode
In the beginning, is the lightbulb moment, the idea. Ideas happen all the time, and most of them are bad. There is always initial excitement when I come up with an idea for a business. But, within 24 or 48 hours, that phase is already over, as most of the problems and hurdles of the concept have come to light. The main criteria are whether the business could be big enough, the barriers to entry, and the competitive landscape. The ideas that survive the initial research phase get additional attention and research to determine if they’re worthwhile. Some Entrepreneurs will jump in, while others will spend months or years in thinking and research mode.

The Decision
A decision is made to pursue or not to pursue. You have to take the leap or decide to pursue something else. The decision to go forward is a critical moment because that’s when it starts costing money, time, and energy. For the ideas that survive, this is usually when I begin researching domain names, business names, and brand names, planning how the business would operate, determining costs and budgets, and talking to potential customers. Some people get very secretive during this period and often avoid sharing their ideas, fearing someone else will steal them, often demanding NDAs to talk to people. While that sometimes happens, most people are too busy with their own projects to steal yours. But, by keeping it secret, you also hold back the ability of people you trust to give valuable (free) feedback and ideas. [Continue Reading in XBIZ Magazine]