It Starts With An Idea.....

Some of you may have had one, but most will have not, that eureka moment when you come up with an idea so good that it's going to change your life. If you haven't had one yet then definitely do not be down hearted! If you feel that your on the edges of something then you have the right mind set and it will happen for you one day. To come up with a good idea can either be the way you think, look at the world, or could be something you stumble on completely by accident.

For this post I want to specifically talk about an individual who made a massive success just from having the idea to recreate something from their past. This person is Julie Dean and she is the owner of The Cambridge Satchel Company.

If many of you have watched a fair bit of TV lately you have most likely seen the advert for Google featuring Julie and her satchels and the journey taken from idea to million pound company and the satchel craze. If you haven't then here is a quick reminder.....

Now this advert was the first I'd even seen this story. My girlfriend however is a fashion graduate so of course knew about the success before the advert. I do jokingly nudge her every time the advert comes on and say 'Come on then, wheres your big idea to make us millions?'. But without that Eureka moment or that start of a great idea any attempt on this scale would be pointless. If you go looking for an idea then you my not enjoy the journey. The successes of people like Julie Dean is that she had passion in what she was doing and was able to channel that passion and enjoyment into her eventual success.

Not all of it will ever be smooth sailing though. Times do get very hard when you are trying to develop and build your idea. The Cambridge Satchel Company although very popular did go through a rough time with bad press for been 'unreliable' but this wasn't actually anything to do with the company been in any way deceiving or lazy. The actual problem was that the satchel craze became so popular so quickly that they couldn't keep up with orders. Now any business person will tell you that this situation is completely catch 22. You may end up with massive orders for your fantastic product, but you may not yet have the resources to complete all those orders. This was a similar situation. The Cambridge Satchel Company until a short while ago outsourced the production of their satchels and if that company had other orders in the pipeline then the satchels had to be put on hold.

Now, of course that problem has been solved with the development of their own factory. The idea developed further and more problems over come to establish the idea on a much larger scale.

So what can you take from this story? Well, I think its a good example of how a good idea can take you a long way. But even if your idea is concrete do not expect it to be plain sailing. Every new business venture is a challenge and there will always be bumps in the road. But as long as your willing to give it your all and work harder than you have on anything else then you will succeed! Be passionate about your work, make sure its something you enjoy, and the rewards will be that much more satisfying. As the old saying goes: A person who does what they love for their job will never work a day in their life ever again!

Keep being creative!

Jimmi


Want your own satchel? Get one here!  http://cambridgesatchel.co.uk