7 Ways to Keep Your Focus on Execution After the Idea

Every startup begins with an idea, but from that point forward, it’s all about execution. Founders soon learn that customers only spend real money for solutions rather than ideas. Investors have also learned not to invest in ideas but only in entrepreneurs and teams who can deliver solutions. Success requires moving your passion quickly from the idea to the business implementation.
A good execution requires a plan and the right people, combined to create operational excellence and exceptional customer value. Companies that do this best become market leaders. Google, for example, was not the first Internet search provider (think Yahoo!, AltaVista, InfoSeek and others), but according to Investopedia, Google was the first to really monetize search.

As a result, Google has become a verb, and the company is a tech giant with record growth rates and a revenue of $74.5 billion in 2015. But Google is not unique. Many other companies have followed a similar set of execution principles which I believe are required for business success, no matter how great the idea:

10 Types of Businesses You Can Build After 5 p.m

Nor do you have to quit your day job in order to get started: five o’clock may mean happy hour or video games for some, but for a growing number of professionals, it means shutting down the computer at the office and firing up that business at home.

So, if you're game, you next have to select what kind of business you want to start. Which type is right for you? Here are 10 great ideas you can build from:

6 Reasons Why You Need to Mastermind Your Business

When you're the boss, it can be near impossible to escape from the office in order to connect with other entrepreneurs for more than an hour or two. But, as I discovered during a recent retreat with my mastermind group in Austin, Texas, the less you can afford the time, the more you need it. Here are six reasons why:

1. Perspective.

Distancing yourself from the daily grind provides an entirely new view on your business -- and your life. Your shoulders sink a little bit from their usual position near your ears. Those email messages waiting in your in-box seem a little less urgent than they did 24 hours ago. Just as objects in the rearview mirror are closer than they appear, problems seen from inside the office appear larger than they actually are.