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I live in Athens, Greece. I have an idea that is really simple to do. It just needs a blog, a twitter account and a facebook page for support.

The problem is that i don't have the time to work for it, after the creation of these 3 simple things (blog, twitter, fb page). I am involved in various other things with my partner.

I do not want all of the possible future profit for my own. I only need 3-4 devoted persons that will do the work needed. And I could possibly have a small percent of the future profits (if any!)

The problem is how to be safe that if I tell some people my idea, they won't do it themselves since it's simple to do and run as I explained.

Does anyone have any ideas that would help?? Thanks for your time reading this!

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If you do not have time to work on your idea, then how will you convince anyone else to work on your idea. You are not president of US, find more than 30 minutes to work on your idea. – Pradeep Dec 18 '12 at 10:54
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anyway, even if you are rude to someone you don't know: i am not the president of the US,but you also don't know me and how free or not is my time. i agree with you that if you want your idea to become successful you will have to spend time, but i have 3 other things running, so if i find some time to focus on the new thing, i will also have to reduce the time for my other projects. the best for me would be to find 2-3 people that would like to create something new to work on it. in greece many people are without jobs seeking for opportunities, so i might be able to succeed and find them. – Kostas Dec 18 '12 at 13:32

4 Answers

up vote 11 down vote

The truth is that most ideas are worthless and not unique. It is the execution that adds value.

Having said that, it may be that you can find the time to test out your idea in a small but meaningful way. If it looks like it is following your expectations, you can pursue it. You can hire people to help you, just as any other business does.

Think about your typical week, can you spare 30 minutes per day? If so, you can make progress.

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Thanks a lot for your reply! I agree that it's the execution part that counts more than everything. I can spare 30 minutes per day but the problem is that the time needed to be done properly is much more, that's why a team of 3-4 people is needed. But for sure, even if it's not done 100% properly by offering 30 minutes per day, I guess I could check how it goes.. OK I will think about it if I have no other solution! :) Thanks again! – Kostas Dec 18 '12 at 10:39
Just go for it dedicating as much time as you can. If you see it making progress, spend more time on it until you're swamped, then hire someone to help. Repeat. If it is something you are passionate about, you'll find a way. – Steve Jones Dec 18 '12 at 18:24
Steve, yes i might give it a try but i am not very optimistic about how it will work because in order to be successful, the content will have to be updated really often (2 posts per hour for sure) and it's not something that the users could create. If I give 30 minutes per day I might be able to do 3-6 posts per day, while an appropriate number of posts will be near 50 per day.. – Kostas Dec 20 '12 at 9:07
@Kostas If it is not real-time (i.e. reacting to actual events by the hour), then could you dedicate a couple of hours each evening to create the posts for the next day and have them released every 30 minutes? Or, is there someone you can trust to do some of the posts for you, while you fit in some others throughout your day? If it really is as easy as you claim, just start. It might be difficult at first, but who cares? You should be able to find a way. – Steve Jones Dec 20 '12 at 9:31
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Steve today I decided to talk with 2 friends about it and maybe we'll find a way to start it even with less posts as it has to be. Let's see how it will go.. Your replies are really to the point, thanks for helping me! All the other comments also helped a lot, THANKS to all of you!! – Kostas Dec 20 '12 at 9:53
up vote 5 down vote

Something doesn't match here.

I have an idea that I am almost sure that it will be successful

and...

.. that is really simple to do. It just needs a blog, a twitter account and a facebook page for support...

yet...

I can spare 30 minutes per day but the problem is that the time needed to be done properly is much more, that's why a team of 3-4 people is needed.

Does not compute.

You have a conceptual, untested idea that theoretically can be successful that seems content heavy (simple blog / twitter / facebook) YET requires a team of 3-4 people to implement - and you cannot dedicate time to prove it out?

Something simple shouldn't require a team of 3-4 people. And if it was, then one should be able to break down the effort into outsourceable chunks to get it done efficiently.

Either support the effort with (1) cash to outsource work or (2) time to validate the model.

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+1. Your "does not compute" analysis is exactly what I was thinking. – rbwhitaker Dec 18 '12 at 16:28
Hello and thanks for your reply! The content will have to be updated really often (2 posts per hour approximately), so in order this to work for let's say 18 hours per day, yes a team of at least 3 people is needed. – Kostas Dec 20 '12 at 9:09
Understood. But even with 36 articles / day, one can schedule such content to publish/post at set intervals. Evergreen content can be generated / sourced independent of the publishing schedule, so one can stockpile the content and pay freelancers appropriate rates. Still doesn't feel like a 3-4 headcount operation. – jimg Dec 20 '12 at 14:57
The project should also have a facebook & twitter support, as I wrote in the first post. So if you add the time that is needed to schedule facebook & twitter posts along with the blog, I think that you will agree with me. Please keep in mind that the content to be posted has to be chosen carefully and to also have an original text from the blogger. So the posts won't be a simple copy-paste. The number of 3-4 people that I wrote, is the ideal number, which the project can work like i imagine it. It's not a must of course, but I don't think it will work smoothly with less people. Thanks a lot!! – Kostas Dec 20 '12 at 15:11
up vote 4 down vote

"A good idea is worthless without impeccable execution and a commitment to iterate." - Zach Klein

"It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen." - Scott Belsky

"Tell anyone and everyone your idea without fear they’re going to steal it." - Aaron Patzer

"Successful entrepreneurs are quick movers because they realize that just having a multi-billion dollar idea doesn’t mean anything unless they get it out there before someone else does." - Kevin O’Connor

I could give you a bunch more quotes, but I think you get the point. Get working on your idea or even hire people to do it for you! If it's a great idea, you should be willing to invest adequate time in it.

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Yeah quotes are cool & inspiring.I wouldn't mind to tell an idea that is complicated and hard to do, but this one can be done by anyone easily,just needs some work to run correctly.So I prefer keeping it for myself,even though I am sure in the near future that someone here in Greece might do it.But I am cool with that,it has happened to me again in the past with a bunch of ideas.I have other projects running too (ideas I had in the past and I made them happen!) & at least 3 other ideas for the future.Damn,wish I owned a company with 15 people working for me :) then everything would be easy lol – Kostas Dec 20 '12 at 9:16
up vote 3 down vote

To grow your business you will have to give time to it along with a good plan. If you are confident that your plan is good enough, you must invest more time in it. If you can't give much time, then the only thing you can do is to plan it wisely and distribute the work wisely to the people with you. If you are giving 30 minutes to your work then you must make sure that its utilized at its best. And if you can't give time, you will have to trust someone to execute your plan.

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Hello my friend, thanks a lot for your reply! Yes I might trust my idea to some people, I have some of them in mind.. – Kostas Dec 20 '12 at 9:21

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