ENTREPRENEURS WANTED
We need more entrepreneurs—individuals with new ideas—who are willing to move those ideas forward. This is what transforms communities.
How does this happen? Not in isolation. New ideas move forward when entrepreneurs connect with others.
It is the connection that creates the spark that ignites the great idea.
This takes entrepreneurs connecting to other entrepreneurs, resources, money and customers. Individuals who won’t share their idea because they are afraid of rejection or theft are not thinking entrepreneurially. They are dreamers with a dreaming disease, and their dreams are destined to die in isolation. Sharing and connecting is the key—it is the way new ideas move forward.
The quintessential skill that moves new ideas forward is the elevator pitch.
All entrepreneurs should be able to deliver this pitch and do so on repeat. Persuasive and succinct, an elevator pitch is designed to be delivered in the time it takes for an elevator ride, about 30 seconds.
The only goal of the elevator pitch is to gain traction for your idea. This seems fairly straightforward, right? I get 30 seconds to explain my idea. Got it. But the trick is connecting in a meaningful way. This requires a persuasive approach and thinking like an entrepreneur.
Problem first, solution second.
Don’t lead with your idea, your proposed product or service. Instead, open with why your idea matters. This is most easily understood by stating the problem you are solving, or the need you are fulfilling, or the job you are making easier. Do so in as few words as possible. Data or research can help provide meaning.
For example, “50 percent of adults in the U.S. will think about starting a business at some point in their life, but fewer than 10 percent will take any steps toward doing so. We plan to solve that problem by providing business planning and access to capital services that help entrepreneurs get started.”
An effective elevator pitch elicits interest, and if meaningful, a question. You know you have connected if the listener responds, “Oh really, how do you do that?”
Aha! The opportunity to share your new idea has occurred.
A connection is made. This won’t happen in every case, but when it does, leverage your advantage.
Know why you are pitching.
Simply gaining traction for your idea is good enough reason. You never know when feedback will lead to real insight that will improve the idea. Or not, and this is okay. If your idea and plan do not change as a result of sharing the idea repeatedly, then it is possible you have identified a problem that no one cares about. The elevator pitch is a test of market response.
Of course, valid reasons for pitching new ideas include finding others who share the same passion and can connect you to resources, and finding money to fund the idea. This is the job of the entrepreneur, connecting ideas to resources and funding so that it
will see the light of day and make the world a better place.
We need more entrepreneurs working on great ideas. This not only includes individuals with the dream but also our small business owners who have discovered a new opportunity to grow their business. It starts with a willingness to share our new ideas and connect. You never know when a connection will create the spark. Be ready to pitch your idea.
