Has what you’re about to do already been done?
Are suffering from ‘NIH’ syndrome – the Not Invented Here syndrome? Are you ‘one of those’ who refuses any ideas unless they are your own? Seriously, forget it! Business owners who use the great ideas of others are smart cookies. Don’t waste time doing if it’s already been done.
The great thing about being a business owner is that you are not the first person to have ever faced pretty much any situation on the face of this planet. Tonnes of others would have already faced the same issue you are dealing with and would have found perfectly acceptable solutions. Why not use one of theirs instead of inventing your own? With thousands of ways out there to solve problems, there too is one which will work for you. Start looking for it!
What’s Wrong With Reinventing The Wheel?
Actually, there is nothing wrong per say with coming up with new solutions and ideas, but doing that as your first step is actually a bit of a time waster. Actually, it is a huge time waster. Instead, you should already assume it has been done before and spend a few minutes searching on Google. Searching for phrases related to your problem or even long-tailed keywords can help you nail down specific solutions to help you out.
However, using somebody else’s ideas or templates should not be seen as a shortcut. In fact, don’t take shortcuts. Ever! To achieve you still need to have crossed all your t’s and dotted your I’s, but using something already created by somebody else to guide you through your journey.
How You Can Stop That Wheel Spinning
- First of all, make the conscious decision to look for answers first before coming up with your own.
- Talk to business colleagues, check forums and start chats in networking groups. If they don’t know the answer, they might know someone who does.
- Use the internet like there is no tomorrow. You can find almost everything on there for free.
- Adopt pre-written templates like they are your best friends. Then make sure you fill them out!
- Adapt something to fit your own needs. If you can’t get a perfect fit, it’s alright to modify. This can work when it comes to solving problems as well as developing new products.
There’s a great article over on Best Kept Self’s website called ’12 things successful business owners say no to’ and wouldn’t you know it – one of them is reinventing the wheel! Another is putting themselves last on the priority list and if you are doing that, find out how to change the way you write to-do lists in my Beginners Guide To Prioritising blog article.
Tell me one thing you did not reinvent in the comments below. Or be honest and let me know if you have NIH syndrome so I can help!