“An idea is not a business; an idea is a starting point,” says the Canadian Youth Business Foundation’s (CYBF) entrepreneur-in-residence Dominik Loncar.

Ready, set, what's next?

As your creative mind constantly ticks, you find yourself with a brand new business idea. After mentally formulating your business plan, you approach your close friends, coworkers, and parents with your idea. It seems feasible and creative enough for them, so what’s your next step?

Loncar says that as much as young entrepreneurs are encouraged to follow their business idea hunch, it’s also crucial to not get so attached to the idea. “The first thing for startups is to keep some distance and not fall madly in love with their idea. There is a fine line between passion and blind obsession,” he says, adding that from there, to aim to make a sale as soon as possible.

If a sale can’t be made right away, you don’t need to panic. “That means they need to test it and get feedback” since assumption could get young entrepreneurs in trouble. “The best way to do that is to get a test run where people know that you’re just testing it,” says Loncar, adding that talking to potential paying customers is key.

“The kind of feedback entrepreneurs need isn’t from their cousin, brother, sister, or mother, but to get it from potential paying customers. The more they are in front of [people] and talking, the better off they’re going to be.”

At the startup stage, the most successful businesses are ones that communicate with potential customers, test their product, take the time to network with industry professionals, and gain necessary work experience. “Some people have a great idea, but they don’t have the experience,” says Loncar, using the example of starting a shoe retail company. “Do you have experience selling shoes? If not, then you need to spend at least three to five months selling shoes. So it’s really important for entrepreneurs to learn those basic fundamentals before they open their business.”

CYBF as a resource

Discussing your idea and slowly building on your business plan is a safe place to start, and CYBF offers many resources for young entrepreneurs. “My role specifically is to flesh out the viability and fine-tune their idea.” says Loncar. “Assessing what stage the entrepreneur is at is really important because you don’t want to start from the wrong place.”

Aside from one-on-one meetings with a CYBF entrepreneur-in-residence, young business hopefuls everywhere are encouraged to use the CYBF website as a tool for their business idea needs. “If they go on our website under resources, we have a whole slew of tools to use,” says Loncar. “For example, we have a Business Plan Writer that’s free and anyone can use it, and we’ve had over 23,000 people use it so far.”

Canadian Youth Business Foundation's (CYBF) entrepreneur-in-residence Dominik Loncar.

Ready, set, what's next?

As your creative mind constantly ticks, you find yourself with a brand new business idea. After mentally formulating your business plan, you approach your close friends, coworkers, and parents with your idea. It seems feasible and creative enough for them, so what's your next step?

Loncar says that as much as young entrepreneurs are encouraged to follow their business idea hunch, it's also crucial to not get so attached to the idea. The first thing for startups is to keep some distance and not fall madly in love with their idea. There is a fine line between passion and blind obsession, he says, adding that from there, to aim to make a sale as soon as possible.

If a sale can't be made right away, you don't need to panic. That means they need to test it and get feedback since assumption could get young entrepreneurs in trouble. The best way to do that is to get a test run where people know that you're just testing it, says Loncar, adding that talking to potential paying customers is key.

The kind of feedback entrepreneurs need isn't from their cousin, brother, sister, or mother, but to get it from potential paying customers. The more they are in front of [people] and talking, the better off they're going to be.

At the startup stage, the most successful businesses are ones that communicate with potential customers, test their product, take the time to network with industry professionals, and gain necessary work experience. Some people have a great idea, but they don't have the experience, says Loncar, using the example of starting a shoe retail company. Do you have experience selling shoes? If not, then you need to spend at least three to five months selling shoes. So it's really important for entrepreneurs to learn those basic fundamentals before they open their business.

CYBF as a resource

Discussing your idea and slowly building on your business plan is a safe place to start, and CYBF offers many resources for young entrepreneurs. My role specifically is to flesh out the viability and fine-tune their idea. says Loncar. Assessing what stage the entrepreneur is at is really important because you don't want to start from the wrong place.

Aside from one-on-one meetings with a CYBF entrepreneur-in-residence, young business hopefuls everywhere are encouraged to use the CYBF website as a tool for their business idea needs. If they go on our website under resources, we have a whole slew of tools to use, says Loncar. For example, we have a Business Plan Writer that's free and anyone can use it, and we've had over 23,000 people use it so far.

Photo: AmmentorpDK/THINKSTOCK