Read this before you rush to progress your next BIG idea

I see so many people romanticising big dreams, thoughts, and ideas until it’s time to do the work and persevere. When they don’t yield the results they hoped for, they give up and move on to their next big idea. And there begins a perpetual cycle of big ideas that don’t really take off or go anywhere.

When I freelanced, a few people came to me for quotes to design their first start-up website. Sometimes they had not even thought through where they wanted to go with this big idea. They just thought it was an amazing idea and they wanted the world to know about it. Now! But what is the rush?

A would-be client once told me they couldn’t work with someone who didn’t believe in them and was poking holes in their dream. My fault was pointing out that the dots were not connecting because for me to tell the story digitally, I needed to understand it fully. Someone else gladly took their money and populated a ready-made template for them with barely coherent content. They must have known it wasn’t great because they didn’t even promote it. It was less than 6 months before the website was taken down while they are “rebranding”. They should have listened. I could have saved them some money!

Big thoughts and ideas need cultivating and planning to become successful. A big idea worth shouting about usually starts with completing one small task at a time. So let us use someone I know as a case study. We’ll call her “Lea”. Lea has been designing her own clothes for a while now and she is really good at it. She has a unique sense of style that is personal to her and she struggles to find clothes that she likes on the high street. She has received lots of compliments and wonders whether it could be a viable business venture. Does she go into production mode based on a few positive compliments, create a few of her designs, and put them online for sale? She could. But instead, she started asking questions: Do I develop a fashion brand and build an online store? Should I do some market research to establish whether there is a real interest here and whether people are willing to pay money for my designs? Do I know what my target audience is as I am not for everyone? Have I defined my niche? Do I have a unique selling point?

Embracing big thoughts is not just about the excitement of envisioning grand ideas; it’s about recognising the discipline required to turn those dreams into reality. The allure of instant success can lead many astray, but the truth lies in the deliberate and meticulous execution of each small step toward a larger goal.

As I navigate my path from inspiration to fruition, I am always cautious. I have learned some hard lessons from rushing into grand ventures without the necessary groundwork and without the solid foundation of a structure. “Lea”, our hypothetical designer decided that though she loved the creative side of things, she did not have enough business acumen to build a brand from the ground up. So she is actively seeking mentorship opportunities and a business partner who has the acumen to help her with the structure she needs. She serves as a reminder that success emanates not only from creativity but also from strategic planning and persistent effort. So, the next time a big thought captivates your imagination, don’t rush. Give it the time, thoughtful action, and unshakeable commitment that it deserves.