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Satisfy a Need
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Produce a product or service that satisfies a need your customers have right now. It must solve a problem that they have or make their lives measurably better in some way. It might make a task a lot easier or faster. It might eliminate a step. It might make some aspect of their lives more glamorous or fun or project status or style. But whatever it does has to be something that a lot of people are clamoring for right now.
Think Through Problems
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You must be able to think analytically about your business. That includes assessing your market carefully, devising a strategy to reach customers, implementing new tools and adapting when circumstances change. It also includes the ability to think analytically about your balance sheet and make considered decisions that will help you survive in the long run. Gut instincts are good, but analytical thinking is necessary to convert a brilliant idea into a viable business.
Connect
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Relationships are everything in business. You must be able to forge relationships with customers through personal contacts, as well as creating a connection with advertisements. You must be able to wield social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, email marketing campaigns and online videos to forge a relationship with customers that feels genuine and communicates you're there to meet their needs, not to sell yourself.
Stay Quick and Lean
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A new course at Harvard Business School teaches that entrepreneurs should not wait and invest a huge amount building up inventory and marketing and finally spring a huge public launch. Instead they should keep their budgets lean, introduce their products as early as possible and be ready to make adjustments if the market shows they need it. That way, if you've got the wrong product, the wrong market, or the wrong timing, you can afford to make changes without capsizing your business.
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