What Does 'Failing Fast' Mean to You?

The “failing fast” mantra has been a catchphrase for entrepreneurs over the past few years. “Fail fast, fail cheap, and fail early,” is a phrase that business risk-takers and innovators have used to give them the courage to try new things.

The idea is that you’ll find out quickly whether or not an idea is doomed to failure, and the sooner you find out, the sooner you can drop the idea and move on to a new idea with more potential.

Unfortunately, some people have used this mantra carelessly. Used carelessly, “failing fast” can become an excuse for not succeeding. This is certainly not what “failing fast” should mean.

So what does “failing fast” mean now?

Spend Time On Your Strategy

Yes, you should take risks on good ideas, but in order to know whether or not an idea has value, you need to define your strategy. This takes some work. If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you like to dive into a new project while you’re excited about it. Pour this energy into creating a valuable and viable strategy, and you’ll increase your odds of success.

Research Your Market

In addition to spending time on your strategy, you should conduct market research to maximise your chances of success. What products or services are already out there that you’ll have to compete with? What’s missing from the market currently? Is there any way you can fill that void?

Justify Your Idea

Don’t plan to fail; validate that your great idea can make money before you ever create your first prototype. Yes, there’s always the chance that your product or service will fail, and you’ll need to “fail fast” in order to move on quickly to your next idea; however, when you do this work ahead of time, you’re more likely to succeed. If you validate that you can make money before you start, go ahead and move forward. If you can’t validate that you’ll make money, pivot, make adjustments, and look for your new angle.

Build Your Prototype

If you’ve made it this far, and in many cases you can get to this point quickly, then you’re ready to build a prototype. Prototypes are important for showing your investors, your board of directors, and your current and future customers. Without a prototype, it’s difficult to get people to catch your vision. With an attractive prototype, you reduce your chances of failure.

Build Your MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

The quicker you meet your basic users’ needs, the sooner you’ll have something on the market. With a viable product available for purchase, you’ll be able to “fail fast” - or hopefully succeed faster! This is your test run. If your customers find that your product is valuable to them at the price you’ve set, you’re in a great position for making adjustments, adding features, and moving into new markets. If you find that your customers are dissatisfied, you can “fail fast” or make the changes necessary to succeed.

In 2016, “failing fast” means using this well-defined process to fast-track your projects. You can save time, money, and other resources as you lead your company toward innovation and growth. If your ideas don’t work, you can pivot and tackle a new idea. But even when your ideas fail, learn all you can from them before the next venture.

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