Have an idea for an amazing new product that might just change the world and make you a profit in the meantime? This is an incredibly exciting position to find yourself in especially if you truly believe in the idea you have, and you've taken the right steps to validate it. Big, world-changing ideas do not come along often. And when they do, they can be incredibly hard for people to swallow. People like the status quo in fact and when you come along and try to change that, you will always meet resistance. People are afraid of change.

And people – as a whole – are also unfortunately lacking in ambition often. If you tell someone that you’re going to be a rock star or an astronaut, the most common reaction you’ll get is disbelief. That’s also why it’s so tragic to find yourself unable to make that vision into a reality. If you can’t find the funds to develop your product, then you can’t create it and you can’t sell it – it’s that simple!

In this article, we’ll share how to build credibility for your idea so people take you seriously and six ways to find funding for it, so that your good ideas never have to go to waste.

How can you go about convincing people to put their faith (and cash) behind your idea? If you want to do something big, how do you get others on board?

The Power of Credibility

This is actually the very same problem that Elon Musk faced when he wanted to send a man into space. Musk is taken seriously by everyone now but at the time, he was completely unknown. All he knew, was that it was his mission to make space tourism a reality. And he was disenfranchised with the attempts made by NASA and others at that time. He then came up with an idea of a prize to motivate companies into creating the technology necessary to make his vision a reality. The only problem? He didn’t have the money and no one believed that he could offer it!

His solution was to make his initial presentation alongside enthusiastic engineers and astronauts. He found people that were as passionate about his idea as he was and by doing this, he lent his entire concept credibility. People would have laughed him off the stage but not when he appeared alongside his peers and related professionals.

So, the next time you have a big idea for a business, think about how you can get others to buy into it and who it would take to convince them. If it sounds stupid coming from you, then speak to someone who won’t think it’s stupid and who will be able to convince others. This is actually the advantage of having a ‘big idea’ – it will automatically be more exciting than a small idea and sot you’ll find there will be people out there who want to become ambassadors for it. You just have to find them!

With all that in mind though, let's now explore how you can fund your idea.

Crowdfunding means that you raise money from the ‘crowd’ AKA the general public. You put forward your idea, show a working prototype in a video and explain what it does. You then explain why you need money to make your idea a reality and you give away some kind of reward in return.

Another option is to take pre‐orders for your product. This is another way to get money upfront and test that the audience is there. If you don’t get enough pre‐orders to cover the manufacturing expense, then you simply cancel the pre‐orders.

Don’t overlook this option from PayPal. PayPal Working Capital is a business loan from the online payment processor that allows you to pay just a single fixed fee (which is usually quite reasonable) and then make repayments out of the money that comes into your PayPal account. While the fees aren’t the lowest, it’s the ease with which this loan works, the lack of impact on your credit score and the convenient repayment system that make it a good option for inventors.

A credit card loan isn’t the most elegant solution but it certainly works! Other loans include a bank loan or a loan from the ‘bank of Mom and Dad’.

Finding a loan from an angel investor is arguably the most stressful option for getting funding but it’s also the one that can potentially reap the most rewards – especially if you are also getting the advice and help of those investors to encourage your product to grow at the fastest rate and stand the best chance of succeeding.

My personal favorite: bootstrapping means that you sell another product or service in order to raise the money for your bigger and more ambitious venture. Think of this as slowly scaling up your business and your ambition!

Having an idea for a compelling product or business is an incredibly exciting position to be in, especially if you truly believe in the idea can really solve problems. People like the status quo in fact and when you come along and try to change that with your idea, you will always meet resistance. However, the challenge that keeps many ideas from getting off the ground doesn't have to prevent yours from happening. Follow the steps outlined in this article to build credibility for your idea and explore any (or all) of the 6 steps for funding it. Join our strategic growth network using the form below to get weekly tips and strategies on how to fund your idea and take it to market.