Obviously an entrepreneur’s ideas are the key to their success, and finding my 'Big Idea' been a real journey. Over the years I have kept a spreadsheet of all my ideas and they vary massively in terms of Industry, feasibility, and merit!
When first started back at university I consulted the spreadsheet and was originally going to launch a business which supplies safety equipment to a niche market. I could see that this niche was growing and relatively ‘un-serviced’ by current suppliers. After doing all of the initial research, deciding on a company name and even finding suppliers I realised it wasn’t for me as a result of attending the first workshop hosted by Steve from VFM business advisers.
During the workshop I saw people around the table who were truly enthused about their business ideas and wanted them to work not just for money but for belief in what they were doing. I didn’t share this enthusiasm for my vertical market, and this point was hammered home when Steve mentioned that “you need to have passion and drive for what you are doing as this is what gets you through the stressful down days” – decision made, I’m not going to sell safety gear!
It was back to the drawing board and while friends and family made suggestions about what to do, a piece of work I was doing for University inspired me and gave me the Big Idea for my first company.
Basically, I have been working with a charity called East Leeds Health For All (ELHFA) to help develop a market entry strategy for 5 Visual Teaching Aid (VTA) products they have already designed and begun to manufacture. They are pretty unique as they help to promote a healthy eating message to 5 ethnic minorities in the UK using foods traditionally eaten by them and presented in a bi-lingual format.
Picture of my Visual Teaching Aid products:
Due to the recession ELHFA no longer have the time or capital to launch the products, thus I have put together a proposal for a joint venture whereby I manufacture and distribute their products, in return offering a license fee for the intellectual property they have created.
Although I am well aware that this venture won’t make me a millionaire, I do see it as offering some exceptional business experience and an ability to work in partnerships with a charity which is facing real difficulties despite doing so much excellent work for its local communities. This idea gets me excited and it’s something I have a real passion for - I now understand what Steve was talking about and what everyone else at the workshop was feeling about their business ideas.
After brainstorming and consulting the charity on a name for the company we realised that no-one else is operating in this niche, which means we saw the opportunity to build a brand around being a central authority point for ethnic dietary advice. We wanted the name to convey this in a professional manner, and The Ethnic Diet Association was born! We are...
A joint venture social enterprise business, which manufactures and distributes Visual Teaching Aid products focussed on improving dietary education for the growing number of ethnic communities in the UK.
So I hope this gives you all a clear idea of what I’m looking to do, and I look forward to sharing the latest progress with you in my next post.
Rowan
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