During the Christmas period, I read Eric Ries's: The Lean Startup book. It was recommended by one of my university peer whom I approached with the Big One. I enjoyed reading it very much and I had a lot 'hmm moments'. Although this book mainly concentrates on the IT startups, the learning cycle and the business growth strategy could be useful for other types of businesses. The idea that hit me hard was that you better not to take it granted that the product or service what you perceive to be good is what the customers really need and they are happy to pay for. I guess it is a common trap for new entrepreneurs who are in love with their ideas, like me. The book highlighted the necessity of building up a direct relationship with the future customers in order to get to know their experience, perceptions, wants, etc. Also, the book argued to leave enough place and funding for alternatives if during the market research or the pilot launch period your hypothesis about the pr
I got the idea of the Big One from an experience of a family member. It is "thing to do" for individuals, couples, group of friends in an environment that would interest the British people and tourists. Similar businesses operate in Eastern Europe with great success, but the idea was not brought to the British market yet. My aim is to open a facility in Liverpool or Manchester, build a strong brand and franchise it to other cities in Britain. I do not want to reveal it at the moment, however there is a leading picture... I pet the idea for more than a year now. A year ago I took some basic steps to break down the idea into parts to see what would be necessary for the launch. The business would need a large capital investment even if I want to start it on a small scale and invest in development later. It requires a large size building, some equipment, special features and to maximise its potential, it has to be in a city that is the target of tourism. It turned out