Insights into a good business idea from the thoughtful Dragon

Looking back through some newspaper clippings from earlier this year, I came across a really interesting interview with James Caan. In the interview, Caan makes some interesting comments which are of direct relevance for students embarking on the new AQA & Edexcel AS Business courses this week…

Caan says that making money isn’t easy. It requires planning, understanding the risk, mitigating risk and going over the financials.

“Too many entrepreneurs put too much emphasis on the idea and not enough on the people they will need to make it a reality. They become obsessive about the idea, whereas it is people who create success. An idea is nothing without good people.”, says Caan in the Telegraph interview.

If he has one piece of advice for budding entrepreneurs, it is to concentrate on the execution.

“You may be launching a product that sounds great and has a great name. But the really important part is to think about the market for the product. Who will buy it, what will they pay, how will they buy it? Ideas are easy; it is the execution of an idea, of a business, that is the key.”

I agree wholeheartedly with these views. Too often an entrepreneur will claim to have found a “gap in the market”. However, it is more important for the entrepreneur to research whether there is actually a “market in the gap”.