Have you even turned any of your ideas into reality? Be it small or big, we can have as many ideas as we can but how often do you turn them into reality? Since I was young, I love to have different ideas which usually link to what can I do to earn more money? Some ideas come & go. Some turned into reality & some were scrapped. I have a principle of developing ideas & if I truly believe in it, I will make sure that I work hard on them to turn them into reality.
An example of some of the ideas that were turned into reality includes my gym, my finger tape brand, my blog & recently a YouTube channel. Looking at all of the ideas that I have working on, it is all correlated to each other in a way. It may look easy but there are a few steps that need to be done to turn your idea into reality. The formula is as simple as Idea-Development-Trial-Launch. It looks simple, isn’t it? Now let’s dive deep into all these steps on how you can get your idea into reality.
Ideas are free. It can be from yourself or someone around you. The best ideas are usually ideas that are discovered from opportunities, issues, or gaps. My gym was launched based on all these 3 when martial art gym was not a thing in 2012. There was only 1 martial art gym in Penang island & they were teaching fitness kickboxing instead of proper martial arts. When my gym was launched in 2012, Kombative Fitness was the biggest MMA gym in Penang with different martial arts classes such as Boxing, MMA, Muay Thai & BJJ. The idea was from opportunities, issues & gaps. We just passed our 9th year birthday & we do look forward to more years to come. Similarly, my finger tape brand was also launched based on these 3 factors. Finger tape in Malaysia was too expensive & the cheaper options quality was bad therefore Black Belt Tape was born.
Development is an important part that will determine how successful your ideas will be. Once you have decided to proceed with your ideas, the development will be the hardest stage of all. This is where things get tough & some will give up at this stage. To develop my gym from my idea, there are lots of factors that need to be taken into account such as cost, classes, concepts & others. Similarly, my finger tape brand required lots of effort from developing, sourcing & making tough choices to determine what’s best for the brand. These processes typically take between 1-12 months depending on how big your idea is.
Next, we are at the stage where we will determine if our ideas will work or not. Prior to launching your idea into reality, this is where you will know if there is demand for your idea. My gym concept was new at that time but seeing feedback that was given by our potential customers prior to our launch & proven concept by other martial arts gyms in Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, I am sure that we are able to make it a success. Black Belt Tape trial was also proven based on a few factors which include pricing, quality & demand. We are able to provide a competitive price vs our competitor & we are able to provide better-quality tape. There is a lot of testing involved prior to launching it. The demand is also there as it can be used for different sports such as BJJ, rock climbing & others.
And the last stage of all is where you launch your idea into reality. If you have done the first 3 steps right where you take your idea, develop it & have a trial run based on survey or feedback, you are ready to bring it to the market by launching it. Successful or not, it will depend on how much effort you put to market it. If you are able to market it right, it is almost guaranteed that your idea will be a success.
Conclusion:
In my many conversations with friends or family, the most common scenario that many people are unable to turn their idea into reality is when they scrap their idea even before developing it. Why? Commonly it is because things will get tough & the fear of failing. But when it comes to giving suggestions or ideas to people, those individuals that scrapped their ideas will give you the most ideas that usually are not helpful. Since their intention is good, you can take it in & evaluate it before deciding to follow their suggestion or not. Turning your ideas into reality is not the easiest thing especially there will be lots of limitations & challenges ahead but in my experience of doing it from my gym, finger tape brand, blog & my YouTube channel, I find it to be satisfying especially starting everything from scratch. Trust me, you will enjoy the process as much as I have.
OSS!
You can also check out my latest YouTube video on Why Do You Need Financial Planning:
