Episode 16 was the first in a four part series on Business Planning. As a request from one of our listeners in Idaho, we decided we couldn’t do the topic of Business Plans justice with just one episode. So, our first installment focused on development of an idea, which doesn’t necessarily have to be business based. We wanted this series to be able to reach ATs who have any number of ideas, not just business specific ones.

With athletic training being such a young profession, there are any number of ideas that will come to fruition and several opportunities available for ATs to penetrate. For that reason, we thought we could all benefit from understanding how to better develop an idea and where to go with it once you’re in the brainstorming phase.

An idea is any concept existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity.

Some of the best ideas come as a result of a space or area that is lacking. Identifying a need for something in your own practice is a great way to start, just like the teacher always used to say in class “ask the question out loud, because if you have it, someone else probably does too.” Its a very high likelihood that there is another AT in the world who could benefit from what you have developed.

When you’re in the brainstorming phase, here are some things to consider:

• What resources already exist?
  • Similar business models you could extract from
  • NATA published articles or BOC blog
  • Local or national business support
  • Friends, family, colleagues

The next step is to conduct some research, here are some primary areas to focus on:

• Competition: is there someone else who is already doing this? If so, does your idea somehow better what is already being done? Be as exhaustive as possible in your search for competition, be sure to consider like ideas, even if they aren’t identical to yours.
  • Start by googling your idea. Be sure to use different search terms to describe your idea so that it finds anything similar.
  • Search NATA or BOC blogs. People who are doing unique things are often spotlighted on these sites, see if someone is already doing something similar to your idea.
  • Ask around on social media. Utilize the power of forums & groups to find results from all over the country. See if anyone has heard of what your idea is and also get feedback at the same time.
• Industry: Determine which industry your idea will be in. Don’t make the mistake of assuming it’s athletic training simply because clientele or target audience is athletic trainers. If you’re creating tape or a new brace, you’re in the taping & bracing industry, not athletic training.
  • This is a crucial step because knowing and understanding industry standards and trends will bode well for you when determining the viability of your idea; it will be a predictor of potential success.
  • For example, you wanted to develop a new type of white athletic tape. You assumed that your industry was athletic training, so your research showed you that the profession of athletic training is rapidly growing and has an above average growth potential over the next 10 years. However, your industry is actually tape, which when you do the research shows that sales over the past 3 years has decreased in white athletic tape and has increased in KT tape. This would be a tragic misstep early on for you in determining whether this is a viable idea.
• Laws/ Practice Acts: Investigate whether you idea violates any laws or state practice acts. This will be a major hinderance to overcome if not duly researched up front.

Once you have pretty confidently ruled out that your idea is fairly original, the industry is viable, and you’re not violating any laws, you can transfer your focus to conceive a name & explore your web presence. Here are some things to consider when you get to this phase:

• Developing a name is equal parts fun & frustrating. You want it to embody all aspects of what your idea will be, but also be succinct enough that it rolls off the tongue and is catchy. Take your time here to come up with something that really fits.
• Once you have come up with one or a couple names that you like, check the US Patent and Trademark Office to see if anything similar is already trademarked. If that name or related terms have already been trademarked for your industry, you will be violating a law to operate under that name.
• If it passes these tests, the next item to look at is your web presence.
  • Start by searching all the social medias (facebook, instagram, twitter, snapchat, linkedin, etc.) for a consistent handle. Ideally, you want your identifier on all these medias and your website to be the same.
  • Your last step will be to search for your domain name. Do not start here, as there are people who troll these sites to purchase names that are being searched. This causes you to purchase the name at a much higher price than if it was available. Be sure to only conduct this search one time and purchase it if it’s available.

Do you have an idea that would help make your job easier or would benefit the athletic training community? Perhaps you thought it wasn’t viable or didn’t have the power to develop it into anything. But perhaps after reading this you realize it meets all the preliminary requirements? Then, explore it a bit more. Don’t wait for someone else to fill a void that you are experiencing. If there is something great you feel you could add to the world, do it!

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