My son sent me some links to a few TED talks about business that I decided to watch. There was one in particular that really caught my eye. Bill Gross, an expert in start-up businesses, gave a short speech about the 5 components in successful start-ups. This really resonated with me having just gone through this starting Your Friend 4 Life just over 4 years ago. I found his study to be spot on with my own experiences. If you are starting a business, I believe you will find the same results as Bill Gross.

 

• Timing– Mr. Gross found that timing was the single most important factor in whether a start-up business succeeds or fails. If you are too early or too late, success will either come slowly or not at all. If technology has not caught up to your idea or your customers need to be educated about your idea, you will not reach success.

 

• Team and Execution-Next Mr. Gross learned that having the right team in place that was able to execute your vision was critically important. Leadership is critical in a start-up, without a visionary leader, execution will fail as will the business. Everyone on the team, early on, must clearly see your vision and execute it flawlessly to succeed.

 

• Idea-Mr. Gross was even surprised that the idea was not as important as timing and execution to whether a start-up business succeeded or failed. There have been great ideas that have failed miserably because of bad timing or bad execution. No one remembers z.com in 1999 because broadband internet was rare and the company failed in 2003. Just two years later, YouTube, exploded on the scene and the great idea of z.com was lost to YouTube because of timing with broad coverage of broadband internet service.

 

• Business Model-Mr. Gross found some companies succeed so fast that they didn’t really have a business model. A business model is important, but can always be added once the business takes off. Without these first three aspects in place, a great business model will not save a business from failure.

 

• Funding-Mr. Gross found the least important aspect of a start-up is funding. Too many business owners believe the funding has to come first and in reality it can come towards the end. Funding is important, but with VCs and crowd funding websites popping up all over the internet, funding is not as hard to secure as it was just a few years ago.

 

If you are starting your own business, consider these factors by Bill Gross. I have personally found this to be true in my business and I wish you great success in starting yours! Here is the link to the speech: Bill Gross

 

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”  –Steve Jobs, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO, Apple

 

Image by Sira Anamwong images at www.freedigitalphotos.net

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Tim Wilhoit is owner/principal of Your Friend 4 Life Insurance Agency in Nashville, TN. He is a family man, father of 3, entrepreneur, insurance agent, life insurance broker, salesman, sales trainer, recruiter, public speaker, blogger, author and team leader with over 28 years of experience in sales and marketing in the insurance and beverage industries.