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Most successful innovators are highly optimistic. Sometimes they let their optimism cloud their judgement about the likely timeframe for their company’s success. It takes longer and costs significantly more than most expect to gain a foothold in the market. It can be hard, especially in a technical endeavour, to face poor initial market reception. Why do the customers not immediately recognise the benefits of the new product/service? Because your consumer isn’t you!! They have different needs, wants and motivations. They buy products for many different reasons. It is vital to understand who they are and then to sell to them. Every innovator has a vision of a world in which their product changes the market. This is very rare and your product will need to fight for market share, usually against very well-resourced players who do not wish to change. Because your customers have managed to survive without your product you have to convince them to change their behaviour. It is vital to provide relief and find a pain that consumers have and for which they will pay to access a solution.

Many errors occur in the life of an entrepeneur and it is critical to accept this reality and not allow fear of failure to impact your decision-making process. Recognise and remedy mistakes as soon as possible and learn from them. Be prepared to make significant changes, to continue to innovate.

MACOE can assist in setting strategies and plans to ensure that the business is working on the right things; the important things. If you could only do three important tasks today, what would they be? How much value will these tasks provide myself or others? Will this value be evident today, in a week, a month, a year or five years? Can you shut your eyes and see where you will be in the future; see your goal? Now need to get on with it and make the changes!