Nowadays we are in the era of tech gold fever. We have got used to see how young entrepreneurs make incredible fortune in very short of time. And the story teller talks about these successful entrepreneurs as epic heroes in the global village of the 21th century.

But be careful, beyond these stories and heroes there are strong pillars that they have known to leverage. Do not be dazzled by stories and epic songs that do not really tell you anything about the essential principles on how to create and develop a business from scratch.

Based on my experience I would like to share with you what I think they are the principles of successful entrepreneurs. Lessons distilled from my entrepreneurship experience. The concepts I going to expose here already exist but how they are represented and remarked, thinking in beginner entrepreneurs, is the new.

My principal experience has been creating a startup with technology base but these principles apply to all kind of arenas.

So “The Successful Entrepreneur’s Daisy Flowerpot” is aimed to beginner entrepreneurs. Though, it can be used as a nice reminder for ones with some more experience.

I have taken the “Business Model Canvas” as guide but I have created a new representation concept to notice, in a very intuitive way, what is very important when you begin a startup. “The Successful Entrepreneur’s Daisy Flowerpot” is as I have called this new representation.

 

My intention in this post is not to explain in detail these principles but take your attention on them, avoiding you to be one more lost entrepreneur in the world of the story tellers in the tech gold fever age.

“The Successful Entrepreneur’s Daisy Flowerpot” will help you to grow your own business by considering the essential principles surrounding the customer and a value proposition. But remember that these principles are a guide and the key is how you execute them in your context.

Here we go…discovering and validating your customer…

The Nature of the Successful Entrepreneur’s Daisy Flowerpot – your customer group

As you know soil and fertilizer are needed to grow a flower. But before of that you need the seed.

In the case of you are trying to develop a business from scratch you need your seed; I mean the initial group of customers that are interested in your value proposition. You have to identify your first customer group, your seed.

Remember a flower without a good soil is sentenced to die and soil without a flower to feed has no sense. So you need to difine your Daisy Flower, your value proposition and your target customer group.

Defining your Daisy Flower – discover your first customer group

This Daisy Flower represents the principal questions you have to answer to identify and define your customer. You cannot build your value proposition if you don’t know what it is because of you don’t know who is interested in it and willing to pay for it.

There are no facts inside your building so get outside to test your hypothesis. So you need to go out and look for who needs help, identify who they are, how you can to reach and interact with them (channels). Spend a lot of time with them, listen to, ask them if they are willing to pay for what you think is a solution their problem and finally think about how you can built your value proposition making the different from the rest of competitors.

So remember, you need to begin by defining de flower not the soil. To define your flower is to discover your customer (customer problem, market, channels, etc…). You are on the road of the customer development.

Important, define and evolve some KPIs that allow you measure how your flower grows all its parts (customer willing to pay, channels, relationship, etc…).

Preparing the soil for your Daisy flower – build your value proposition

Now that you have the first draft of your flower is time to worry about defining a value proposition (service, product or mix) that fits the customer problem (remember, first the flower then de soil).

Remember that your value proposition has to result in help for the customer, a help they are willing to pay for. As if you are thinking to build a product, service or a mix of them you will need to design and operate what exactly your team is going to create, how, who will be your partners and how much money and time you will need for that. And first at all, you have to create and grow up your team.

Remember a flower without a good soil is sentenced to die and soil without a flower to feed has no sense. So your business needs both of them in harmony. I mean, don’t lose your focus building a very nice ultra tech app, API, platform, etc…or whatever, if you don’t have a least your first version of your flower (the first approach to your customers willing to pay for your value proposition).

Important, define and evolve KPIs that permit you measure how you soil fit your flower.

Growing up your Daisy flowerpot – validate a segment of customers willing to pay for your service, product or mix

That is an iterative process; you can pivot around flower and soil. The objective is to grow up your Daisy flowerpot; it means to validate a segment of customers paying for your help (service, product or mix) (you can learn more about this principles reading about “Customer Development” and “Lean Startup” approaches):

1. flower 1 version -> soil 1 version,
2. flower 2 version -> soil 2 version,
3. …
4. Pivot
5. (b) flower 1 version -> (b) soil 1 version
6. (b) flower 1 version -> (b) soil 1 version
7. …

Important, define and evolve some KPIs that allow you measure how your Daisy flowerpot grows all its parts (customer willing to pay, channels, relationship, etc…) and how the soil (product, partners, cash flow, core activities..) are aligned with the flower and its grow.

The Digital Transformation Strategy Advisor’s Tips

According to my experience I recommend you don’t go through this iterative process alone. An entrepreneur has to be resilient but a loner entrepreneur usually becomes the crazy man of the star idea.

A team with experience in a variety of disciplines, from engineering and development to sales and marketing helps to ensure that it creates and develops great products/services that can be sold.

 

And as always, we have our remedy so that you do not forget these principles: The Successful Entrepreneur’s Daisy Flowerpot.

Take in mind our advisor tip either if you are a beginner entrepreneur or if you are an experienced one. And you will have a burgeoning business.

About our Entrepreneur’s Daisy Flowerpot and the Digital Transformation Strategy of the Companies

The methodology just explained is a very lean process to develop new services, products or mixes. So it is a good tool for established companies willing to increment their revenues leveraging the digital transformation of the market.

In the current market you need to fit your target customer needs in a record time within of infinite improve cycle. The new technologies plus this methodology help you in the challenge.

Take it in mind in your digital transformation strategy.