From Idea to Product - Intrapreneur Nation

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Linda Cheung, Advisor & Coach of Intrapreneur Nation, located in Basingstoke, United Kingdom.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

The business is Intrapreneur Nation. We provide training and coaching to companies who want to be more innovative. Intrapreneurs are the corporate equivalent of entrepreneurs. They are the people who take the business forward in new directions to create new income streams and product lines. The need comes from the changing dynamics of the digital age we live in. Most established companies settle into a comfortable rhythm. They know what they do and what they are good at. They deliver on that repeatedly. Until what they do is, all of a sudden, not what the market wants anymore. That’s where we come in.

Tell us about yourself

If I’m honest, the change had been coming for a while. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy my corporate career, but as much as I enjoyed the buzz of London and working for a large company, I had always had a yearning to have my own business. More personally, I received a massive jolt when my father died. The last thing I wanted to feel was that I was treading water when life was so short.

In 2010 I co-founded Connectegrity and built the award-winning team behind social media start-up CubeSocial – its success led to Intrapreneur Nation, where I lead intrapreneur programmes for large corporations. I am passionate about entrepreneurship and innovation and believe lean thinking should be accessible to enterprises big and small. In addition to my Intrapreneur Nation role, I advise start-ups and scaleups through business support programmes and Non-Executive Director roles. I am also a Board Member at Enterprise M3 LEP, focused on improving the productivity, prosperity, and quality of life for people living and working in our region. I am motivated every day by the lean mantra – Build-Measure-Learn!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Loving what I do – and getting to do it every day! Whether leading programmes at Intrapreneur Nation or acting in an advisory or board role, I help people and organisations achieve change (innovation) with lean thinking. Build-Measure-Learn!

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

Lots of people will ask you for free advice as a start-up. You want to help, but the reality is that you can’t go around giving your time for free as you build a business. I had to learn to identify time-wasters more quickly and learn the power of a graceful ‘no.’

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

If your business turns out to be successful, you’re going to be working in it for 5+ years. You should spend those years doing something you love!
So, start by thinking about what interests you today. What are you interested in learning more about? Which skills can you imagine spending years developing? Finding work that allows you to experience a feeling of personal growth begets business growth.

Next, find a customer segment you can serve better than anyone else. Take time to really understand them and their needs. Pick a task or job that they must get done. One that is important to them. (Important enough that if you create a great product, they would be happy to pay for it to do that task and solve that problem better than they do today!)

Finally, experiment. Try out some ideas with potential customers. Sketch out your solution and go show it to them. See if they would buy. Try taking pre-orders. Do they put their money on the table? When they do, that’s when you know you have found a niche and a solution that has potential and is worth spending more time on.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://intrapreneurnation.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Intra_Nation
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/intrapreneur-nation/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.