This week's readings relate to knowing a killer idea when you see one. And my blog post is detailing the experience that I'm dealing with now: a killer idea and recognizing a not-so-killer plan.
I have been at the point now where I'm really pitching my idea to people in hopes of getting significant help; not so much financial, but in terms of guidance, advice and assistance. It's uncomfortable. I thought that the business plan was hard, but it's amazing how easy everything seems before the experts come in and hit you with reality. The honeymoon with the idea is over, and now the scaling work has really begun.
In most stories of social innovations the scaling happens after you've actually launched, but in my case I've had to realize something kind of scary...when it comes to working with kids, if you jump right in the way you are advised to in every social enterprise book, then you will most likely end up in jail. They always say, "what's the worst that can happen?" and I seem to have picked the field where there's a pretty substantial answer to that question.
As it turns out, the process of starting something is more difficult than I originally thought when it comes to working with minors. I have been meeting with numerous people in various areas of the field that I really respect, people in construction, foundations, the Wilkinsburg CDC, and the arts, and each one makes me think of something new that exposes the areas that I had not thought to consider before. In the past month I have thought more about code compliance (for your building), insurance (to cover yourself in the instance that some kid cuts off an appendage, as is wont to happen), flaming legal hoops (there's a lot to work with anyone under 18. Like, more than you realize. I cannot overemphasize this), and lots of other sticky disgusting topics than I ever wanted to. As I do so I realize the physical liability of managing a space where adults work with children--even if it's someone else's established building instead of your own, because that was the next idea I considered--is really, really hard. And probably not the core of what I want to be managing.
I am having to make a judgement call and say that fielding all the legal snafus is just not feasible for me to navigate at this point in my life. While this may make me sound like a quitter (and/or one of those people who are being derailed by bureaucracy as discussed in this week's readings), I had a meeting with a lawyer this week that only confirmed my sneaking suspicion that my venture in its original incarnation would be more than I am physically capable of, and probably not really be serving people in the manner that I hoped, especially given what is realistic for me as the person heading it.
(Side note: if you are interested in working with kids or employing someone who will, here is information about the basic paperwork for an individual in the state of Pennsylvania. I would also share the checklist for organizations, but surprisingly such a document seems to be nonexistent--and this fact does not alleviate the headache in any way.)
I still believe in the power of the arts, the importance of skilled trades, and the need to connect people...but creating a physical studio space doesn't seem to be the best idea for the time being. I think I have an idea that is more strongly suited to what I am capable of at this point in time, and the next two days will be dedicated to heavily revamping the original idea.
My hope is that what I come up with will be more suited to jumping right in and being agile in a manner that seems to be the common basis of any successful venture. I think this speaks to something that has come up in class, in that truly believing in the purpose of what you are doing is important. My belief in the core of it is unwavering enough that I am able to separate giving up on this physical plan from giving up on my social venture and recognize that I am only doing the former, not the latter.
It also helps when thinking about the network that was mentioned in this week's readings, because I admit that there are moments where it is tempting to give up even on your most core beliefs. Having someone in your life (the Stanford article called them allies; I call it my mom) who is familiar enough with the heart of your intent is really helpful in making sure to have perspective on this, and knowing how to separate the relatively minor failure from the major issue to press forward with.
So the question I would pose is the one that I have been asking myself: what is the core of your belief? What, even in the face of physical adversity, are you unwilling to give up?
With that being said, I've been reading several really great books that I would recommend to anyone when coming up with ideas for developing their product idea--these will definitely be helping me as I go back several steps and reformulate. They are:
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki
Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
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